04/01/2026
Our celebration of Women’s History Month continues as we honor Leia Lewis. Leia is a teaching artist, cultural architect, and mother whose creative practice uplifts ancestral memory, Black cultural resilience, and community healing. Through mixed media, textiles, and immersive experiences, she celebrates her deeply rooted North Louisiana heritage while drawing inspiration from global studies and travels. Her work explores themes of heritage, spirituality, identity, transformation, and love—illuminating wisdom of the African Diaspora and womanhood. For over three decades, Leia has cultivated a distinguished path as an arts administrator, nonprofit leader, educator, and community builder. She is a grounded participant, visionary leader, and enthusiastic collaborator who uses art and culture as powerful tools for social change. Also known as “Queen Leia” in kinship collectives, Leia is the founding producer of MAAFA New Orleans, the annual citywide commemoration of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its enduring legacy. She is founding director of Sankofa Gardens Shreveport, a community garden and learning campus expanding to establish Louisiana’s first folk school. She also leads RECLAIMING INDIGO and INDIGO DRIP, a cultural restoration initiative and arts-in-education program remembering and renewing Louisiana’s indigo dye traditions. We salute Leia Lewis for “Leading the Change” in the Arts!
