Above: By Way of Revolution: Headdress 75, 2025, mural reproduction of a hand cut and assembled mixed media collage, located at 35 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ. Photo by Rachel Fawn Alben.


Dear colleagues and friends,

I am excited to share two important exhibitions that I am opening next week. On Monday, November 17, at 2pm, I will be unveiling two new public murals from my By Way of Revolution series in Newark, NJ that I created in partnership with the City of Newark and Project for Empty Space. On Friday, November 21, I will be opening a solo exhibition, Syntropy, at Praise Shadows Art Gallery in the Boston, MA area. Read on to learn more about these exciting programs, as well as other fall news from the studio. I hope to see you at these receptions next week.

Above left: Crown (Nigist), 2025, velvet and brass with etching, 12"x7.5"x7.5," on view at Praise Shadows.
Above right: Throne (Zufani), 2025, wood, velvet, and brass with etching, 48"x20"x20," on view at Praise Shadows.


Solo Exhibition at Praise Shadows Art Gallery:


Exhibition Dates: November 21 - December 20, 2025

Artist talk and film screening: Helina Metaferia & Jasmine Wahi, Co-Founder of Project for Empty Space

November 21 from 5-6pm

Coolidge Corner Theatre | SOLD OUT, email gallery@praiseshadows.com to join the waitlist

Opening Reception

November 21 from 6-8pm

Praise Shadows Art Gallery | Open to the public


I am excited to present Syntropy, a solo exhibition at Praise Shadows Art Gallery in the Boston, MA area, opening on Friday, November 21 and on view through December 20, 2025. The solo show, which is my second with the gallery, includes new collages that incorporate painted elements, as well as sculptures, printmaking, and textile art.

The exhibition's title refers to the natural order for complex systems to organize smaller parts toward larger interdependent ecosystems, the counterpart to entropy. Inspired by the phenomenology of the term when applied toward social uprisings, my work in the exhibition offers a life-enhancing rebuttal to the disorienting confusion found in oppressive, authoritarian systems. Throughout the show, I construct art objects out of the archival relics of activism, foregrounding the often overlooked labor of women of color in social movements, allowing organizing to serve as both a creative and political tool of support.

The exhibition’s opening reception will be on Friday, November 21, from 5-8pm. It includes a preview of a short documentary film adaptation of my By Way of Revolution series, screened from 5-6pm at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, which is across the street from the gallery. Directed by Alex Bledsoe of Breaktide Productions, the film follows my work over a year while making art for shows in New York City and San Francisco, California, and interviews women of color activists who have appeared in my art. The film preview will be followed by a discussion between myself and Project for Empty Space co-founder and curator Jasmine Wahi, who has worked with me for the last two years via an artist residency, solo exhibition, and public art project.

A reception for the exhibition at Praise Shadows Art Gallery will be held from 6-8pm following the film and discussion program. Both programs are aligned with Fall of Freedom, a nationwide artist-led wave of creative resistance against authoritarian forces sweeping the nation.

Above: By Way of Revolution: Headdress 76, 2025, mural reproduction of a hand cut and assembled mixed media collage, located at 19 Edison Place, Newark, NJ. Photo by Rachel Fawn Alben.


Two New Public Murals in Newark:


Mural Unveiling

November 17, 2pm at 35 Halsey St, Newark, NJ

with shuttle service to the second location at 19 Edison Place

Register for the mural unveiling


I am looking forward to celebrating the completion of two new public murals in Newark, NJ — located at 35 Halsey Street and 19 Edison Place — during an unveiling on Monday, November 17, at 2pm. The murals, which draw from my ongoing series By Way of Revolution, celebrate Newark’s rich legacy of activism while uplifting contemporary voices shaping the city today.

To create this work, I led a Newark-based workshop for women-identifying BIPOC participants that centered on resilience, protest histories, and strategies for self and community care. From this gathering, Newark-born cousins Nashel Brantley and Karla Cruz were chosen as the focal figures for the murals. Their portraits are interwoven with archival materials from the city’s activist history, linking past and present movements for justice and representation.

My creative process was deeply informed by the Newark Public Library’s extensive archival collections, which document local and national activist movements across generations. Protest imagery incorporated into the murals includes 1960s–70s Black Panther and Young Lords photographs, materials from The Star-Ledger, the National Council on Negro Women, and other African American, Puerto Rican, and Hispanic organizations, reflecting the mural subjects’ diverse heritage.

Personal and familial imagery plays a key role: family photographs from Nashel and Karla appear throughout both murals, including a recurring baby photo of the cousins. Their grandmothers’ portraits form the figures’ eyes, while cultural symbols—such as a Salvadoran flag—honor their multicultural lineage. A complete bibliography of archival materials is embedded within each mural, underscoring Newark’s ongoing story of resilience, representation, and pride.

Above: Installation view of my collages and text based participatory installation work, currently on view at Fondazione Merz in Turin, Italy. Image courtesy of the museum.

Below is a list of studio happenings, including exhibitions, acquisitions, performances, and public talks.



Group Exhibitions:


Recent Press:


Recent Publications Authored:

Above: Photo of the artist in the studio, by Don Brodie for Office Magazine.


Thank you for your continued support!


Artistically yours,

Helina Metaferia

Interdisciplinary Artist

www.helinametaferia.com


All images copyright of the artist.

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