Shantrelle P. Lewis

Lewis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to computer analyst father Wayne Lewis and retired social worker mother Patricia Scott.

Lewis was introduced to African American history by her father through her own genealogy as a child where she learned she was a descendant of Henri Christophe, the first king of free Haiti in 1811. She comes from a family of teachers: Her paternal great grandfather, Nathan Lewis, was a student at Tuskegee University, and later taught at Southern University A&M and her paternal great grandmother, Della Atkinson, was a professor at Straight College, which is known today as Dillard University.

In 2000, Lewis received a bachelor's degree from Howard University in African American Studies. By then, her childhood experience with Black history grew into a career, teaching African-American Studies at Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Lewis then earned a master's degree in African American Studies from Temple University in 2006. She returned to her hometown after the Hurricane Katrina disaster to help with revitalization and taught African World Studies at Dillard University.

After returning home to Louisiana in 2007, Lewis became Executive Director and Curator of the McKenna Museum of African American Art.

From 2009 to 2013, Lewis was the Director of Exhibitions and Programs at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) in New York City.

In 2010, Lewis began working on The Dandy Lion Project, curating images of black dandies that has taken the form of an international traveling exhibition, a film series and a book.{{Cite news|url=http://www.okayafrica.com/culture-2/dandy-lion-exhibition-museum-of-the-african-diaspora-moad/|title='Dandy Lion' Exhibition Explores The Rise Of Global Black Dandyism|first=Alyssa|last=Klein|date=2016-05-02|newspaper=Okayafrica.|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite web|url=http://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/grace-and-style-at-moad-dandy-lion-rearticulating-black-masculinity-moad-african-american-culture-sape-sapeurs-narcissister-drag-nic/Content?oid=4671038|title=Grace and Style at MoAD|last=Kane|first=Peter Lawrence|website=SF Weekly|access-date=2016-12-11}} The project connects the subversive contemporary fashion and lifestyle movement to historical images and has dated the movement that blends African aesthetics with European menswear back to the fifteenth century in Africa.{{Cite news|url=http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/black-dandies-style-rebels-with-a-cause/?_r=0|title=Black Dandies, Style Rebels With a Cause|last=Berger|first=Maurice|newspaper=Lens Blog|date=16 June 2016 |access-date=2016-12-11}} Women dandies and trans men are also featured, further complicating the idea of black masculinity.{{Cite news|url=http://www.artlyst.com/articles/brighton-photo-biennials-seventh-edition-focuses-on-identity-and-representation|title=Brighton Photo Biennial's Seventh Edition Focuses On Identity And Representation|last=Artlyst|newspaper=Artlyst London|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/10/it-s-not-just-clothes-that-maketh-the-black-dandy.html|title=It's Not Just Clothes That Maketh The Black Dandy|last=Ferguson|first=Charlise|date=2015-05-10|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=2016-12-11}} Lewis focused on curating images authored by over 30 photographers of the African Diaspora, thus reclaiming the authorship of images that in another context might have historically been seen as exploitive. This project has been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago,{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-dandy-lion-project-black-masculinity_us_57bb060be4b00d9c3a189f2a|title=Vibrant Photos Of 'Masculine' Men Around The World Defy Black Stereotypes|first=Katherine |last=Brooks |date=2016-08-22|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=2016-12-11}} Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh,{{Cite web|url=http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/inside-the-image-of-their-making-dandy-lion-explores-black-masculinity-at-silver-eye/Content?oid=1864447|title='Inside the image of their making': Dandy Lion explores black masculinity at Silver Eye|last=Youssef|first=Onastasia|website=Pittsburgh City Paper|date=October 28, 2015|access-date=2016-12-11}} the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco,{{Cite news|url=https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/06/09/black-men-in-suits-counter-popular-media-narratives-in-moads-dandy-lion/|title=Black Men in Suits Counter Popular Media Narratives in MoAD's 'Dandy Lion'|newspaper=KQED Arts|first=Niema|last=Jordan|date=June 9, 2016|language=en-us|access-date=2016-12-11}} the Brighton Photo Biennial,{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/02/arts/african-style-battles-captured/index.html|title=Fighting oppression through fashion: Africa's dandies

|first=Nosmot |last=Gbadamosi|website=CNN|date=October 2, 2016|access-date=2016-12-11}} and Lowe Museum of Art in Miami.{{Cite news|url=http://www.craveonline.com/art/908415-exhibit-dandy-lion-rearticulating-black-masculine-identity|title=Exhibit {{!}} Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity - CraveOnline|date=2015-10-07|newspaper=CraveOnline|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221051050/http://www.craveonline.com/art/908415-exhibit-dandy-lion-rearticulating-black-masculine-identity|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/female-dandies-osborne-macharia-604235|title=See the 'Extravagant Grannies' Who Are Changing What it Means to Be a Dandy|first=Rain|last=Embuscado|date=2016-08-16|newspaper=artnet News|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/black-dandies-women-rebel-dandy-lion-project-brighton-photo-biennale-jay-z-kanye-africa-boateng-a7218431.html|title=Bows and brogues: Why female black dandies are the ultimate rebels|date=2016-08-31|newspaper=The Independent|first=Kashmira |last=Gander|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/black-men-dandyism-masculinity-and-homophobia/2012/02/01/gIQAfOffkQ_blog.html|title=Black Men: Dandyism, masculinity and homophobia|newspaper=Washington Post|first=Fahima|last=Haque|date=February 2, 2012|access-date=2016-12-11}}

Lewis gained attention as a cultural critic when Beyoncé's Formation video went public, critiquing its colorism, use of Bounce music, and the use of images from New Orleans that viscerally evoked the Hurricane Katrina storm where Lewis lost her grandmother and great-grandmother.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2016/02/16/466893914/watching-beyonc-from-new-orleans|title=Watching Beyoncé From New Orleans|first=Elena|last=Bergeron|newspaper=NPR.org|date=February 16, 2016|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=http://wfpl.org/strange-fruit-love-and-criticism-for-beyonces-formation/|title=Strange Fruit: Love And Criticism For Beyoncé's 'Formation' {{!}} 89.3 WFPL News Louisville|date=2016-02-13|newspaper=89.3 WFPL News Louisville|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2016/02/beyonce_boycott_racist_protest.html|title=Beyonce Super Bowl halftime show leads to protests, boycotts, conversations|first=Chelsea|last=Brasted|newspaper=NOLA.com|date=February 10, 2016|access-date=2016-12-11}}

Lewis has also curated: SOS: Magic, Revelry, and Resistance in Post-Katrina New Orleans Art, Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis of the Persona that Was/Is Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Wearing Spirit: Aesthetically Personifying the Feminine in African Sacred Traditions, Sex Crimes Against Black Girls,{{Cite news|url=http://www.colorlines.com/articles/sex-crimes-against-black-girls-exhibit-uses-art-confront-incest|title='Sex Crimes Against Black Girls' Exhibit Uses Art to Confront Incest|last=cl_admin|date=2011-02-21|newspaper=ColorLines|access-date=2016-12-11}} and Black Pete, Zwarte Piet: The Documentary.{{Cite web|url=https://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/18326-shantrelle-p-lewis|title=Shantrelle P. Lewis {{!}} ArtSlant|website=www.artslant.com|access-date=2016-12-11|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221105358/https://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/18326-shantrelle-p-lewis|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/zwarte-piet-black-pete-documentary-netherlands-christmas-tradition_n_2736238.html|title='Zwarte Piet' Documentary Explores Controversial Netherlands Holiday Tradition Of 'Black Pete' Character (VIDEO) {{!}} The Most Controversial Holiday Tradition Ever?|date=2013-02-27|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a25874/netherlands-sinterklass-zwarte-piet/|title=Being Black in a Country That Embraces Blackface for the Holidays|first=Contessa|last=Schexnayder|date=2013-12-27|newspaper=ELLE|access-date=2016-12-11}}

Lewis is also on the Board of Directors for the Black Star Film Festival and is the Chief Philadelphia Dream Director at The Future Project.{{Cite news|url=http://blackstarfest.org/board/|title=Board - BlackStar Film Festival|newspaper=BlackStar Film Festival|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2014/08/2014-blackstar-film-festival-award-winners-evolution-of-a-criminal-dreams-are-colder-than-death-235582/|title=2014 BlackStar Film Festival Award Winners – 'Evolution of a Criminal,' 'Dreams Are Colder Than Death'|last1=Team|first1=Indiewire|date=2014-08-07|website=IndieWire|access-date=2016-12-11}}

Lewis lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Lewis' exhibition, "Sex Crimes Against Black Girls," was partly inspired by her personal experience with abuse as a child.

In 2016, Lewis married business owner Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson with a wedding they called the "Royal Wedding of Zamunda" inspired by the blend of their Yoruba Nigerian, New Orleanian and Lucumi cultures with a nod to the film, Coming to America. The wedding included a traditional second line.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/12/how-this-couple-combined-new-orleanian-and-nigerian-culture-to-create-the-wedding-of-a-lifetime/|title=How This Couple Combined New Orleanian and Nigerian Culture to Create the Wedding of a Lifetime|date=2016-12-09|newspaper=The Root|language=en-US|first=Yesha|last=Callahan|access-date=2016-12-11}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.okayafrica.com/video/biggest-blackest-wedding-of-all-time/|title=The Biggest, Blackest Wedding of All Time Will Make Your Day|date=2016-11-28|newspaper=Okayafrica.|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-11}}

• {{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle|title=American Apparel, Our Culture Is Not Your Trick, Nor Your Treat|url=http://www.ebony.com/news-views/american-apparel-our-culture-is-not-your-trick-nor-your-treat-304#axzz4T8V6HRFc|work=Ebony|date=14 October 2013}}
• {{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle P.|title=The Devil is a Liar: The Diasporic Trickster Tales of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kendrick Lamar|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/93641191/devil-liar-diasporic-trickster-tales-jean-michel-basquiat-kendrick-lamar|work=Art Papers|volume=38|issue=1 (The Hip Hop Issue)|date=January 2014|page=10}}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• {{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle P.|title=Bow Ties and Rude Boys: The Rise of the Global Black Dandy|url=http://www.afropunk.com/profiles/blogs/bow-ties-and-rude-boys-the-rise-of-the-global-black-dandy|work=AfroPunk|date=5 February 2014}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle P.|title=Fashioning Black Masculinity: The Origins of the Dandy Lion Project|journal=Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art|date=5 January 2016|volume=2015|issue=37|pages=54–61|doi=10.1215/10757163-3339871|s2cid=194226067|url=http://nka.dukejournals.org/content/2015/37.toc}}
• {{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle|title="Formation" Exploits New Orleans' Trauma|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/02/beyonc_s_formation_exploits_new_orleans_trauma.html|work=Slate|date=10 February 2016}}
• {{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Riley|last2=Lewis|first2=Shantrelle P.|title='The Birth of a Nation': The Biggest Clapback in Hollywood History or Yet Another Slave Movie?|url=https://www.colorlines.com/articles/birth-nation-biggest-clapback-hollywood-history-or-yet-another-slave-movie|work=ColorLines|date=2 February 2016}}
• {{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Shantrelle P.|title=Dandy Lion The Black Dandy and Street Style|date=2017|publisher=Aperture|isbn=978-1-597-11389-2|oclc=962550028}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{URL|shantrelleplewis.com|ShantrellePLewis.com}}
• {{Twitter}}
• [https://shoppeblack.us/ Shoppe Black]

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Category:Living people

Category:1978 births

Category:21st-century American women

Category:American art critics

Category:American art curators

Category:Filmmakers from Louisiana

Category:American people of Grenadian descent

Category:American people of Haitian descent

Category:American women curators

Category:Christophe family

Category:Howard University alumni

Category:People from New Orleans

Category:Photography curators

Category:Temple University alumni