Marcus Anderson

Art is vital in my life. It is the center of many things that I do. I mostly focus on visual art these days, but I also enjoy expressing myself through poetry, prose, and music.

I was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to Albany with my family when I was not yet two years old, before moving to Bethlehem where I started kindergarten. There is a lot I could say about growing up in Bethlehem in the 80s and 90s - too much to capture here. While it was at times isolating to be one of a few Black kids in school, I also developed my life’s path and passion in art. My parents, who still live in Bethlehem, valued education and instilled in me a strong work ethic. I spent a lot of time in high school in the art room, drawing. My teacher, Mrs. Pace saw how much I loved drawing and kindled my interest. She knew I was interested in comic books and drawing comics so she arranged to take me to a professional comic artist’s studio to meet him and see what he did. She insisted that I attend an art college to follow my dreams; I majored in illustration at SUNY Fredonia. I developed my desire to inspire other people to follow their creative interests from her doing that for me.

Community is important to me. I focus my art on representing the beauty and diversity of the African Diaspora. I love Black people and there is so much more to us than what is typically portrayed in media and mainstream art, movies, television. I want to go beyond those limits to present a full picture of us.

Learn more about Marcus and his art work at www.marcuskwame.com

You can also find him at the Underground Railroad Education Center undergroundrailroadhistory.org