Dorchester artist L’Merchie Frazier will receive a $75,000 stipend after she was selected for an arts fellowship by the Wagner Foundation, which, says its founder and president, Charlotte Wagner, is driven by a belief that “art is essential to our collective health and well-being.”
The Boston-based foundation has now awarded three such prizes to local artists who have focused their work on “marginalized” groups.
Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Frazier moved to Boston in the 1990s and has been in Dorchester since 2005. She describes herself as a “visual activist” and “public historian,” who “works with the notion of understanding and deciphering 500 years of Black and Indigenous history.”
Her career was inspired by her grandfather, a tailor in West Virginia, and her mother, who did needlework. “That was the introduction in my life to honor the craft of the work of your hands,” said Frazier.
She added: “As a child, I grew up with great respect for those things that were handmade. It was not until after my teen years that I really embraced this as a form of expression. I majored in political science and philosophy in college and found a way through using the arts as a way of dialoguing about issues I was concerned with.”
Frazier is best known for her fiber and metal sculptures, mixed media installations, beaded jewelry, and her series, the “Quilted Chronicles.”
“Under the ‘Quilted Chronicles,’ there are series of works that look at targeted populations, series of works that look to embrace the historic timeline of African American and Indigenous history,” she said, “and series of works that look at what have been our challenges as far as barriers to freedom and democracy.”
Collections of her work can be found at the Smithsonian, The White House, the American Museum of Design, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. They will also be showcased at the MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) during the Boston Public Art Triennial on May 22, along with the work of the other two Wagner fellows, Wen-ti Tsen and Daniela Rivera.
Frazier feels that they make “great company” for her.
“I have admired Wen-ti’s work for about 30 years and have known him that long. Daniela Rivera’s work I’ve also been familiar with. This raised the bar for me in terms of what we can do with our work, how we can impact spaces that we occupy.”
In addition to the funds, the artists will have unrestricted grants and access to tailored artist support services. Frazier hopes to use some of the funds and resources to improve her social media and marketing presence.
In the meantime, she hopes all who view her work “see the power of art” that, she says, can “transform us,” and “help us gain some ground in connection with each other.”
“At the Foundation,” said Wagner, “we believe that art is essential to our collective health and well-being and we look forward to ensuring continued support and growth of Greater Boston’s art community through our annual fellowship.”
