With a stroke of ancestral power and deep historian roots, Chanel Compton Johnson is taking the reins on cultural preservation by embodying what she calls an inherent calling to storytelling in art.
“Art is such a powerful vehicle to interpret and share Black history…a universal language to really be able to make challenging and difficult stories beautiful,” said Johnson, a Maryland-based mixed media artist. “If you think about quilt makers, if you think about the birth of hip-hop music, [Black people] have always used creative expression to share our story. That’s just in our DNA.”
Fresh off completing her latest installation, Johnson honors the stories of the diaspora through a lifelong commitment to the lived experiences of African Americans.
From portraits and abstract works of unsung heroes and heroines, to forthcoming genealogy projects exploring womanhood, the Connecticut native credits an early love for museums and creative stimulation as the foundation of her mission to serve as a “vehicle driving Black stories” – a responsibility she extends both professionally and creatively.
“That practice, that compelling mission, I just feel so much synergy,” she continued. “Whatever I get to learn from my day job – be it history and the untold stories of amazing civil rights activists and revolutionaries – all of that content translates into my creative practice.”
Beyond her Baltimore studio, Johnson leads as executive director of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum in Annapolis, joining forces with curators like Martina Dodd to celebrate and transcend historic legacies through the arts.
More than that, Dodd defined her colleague’s impact as a visionary nurturing historical consciousness, setting the stage to empower generations of Black voices, especially women.
“Under [Chanel’s] guidance, the museum has become a space that not only documents and celebrates Black history but also encourages dialogue, reflection, and the imagining of liberated futures,” Dodd told The Informer, likening it to the historic role of Black women in art. “They not only document history—they actively shape the cultural and social landscapes of today and tomorrow.”
A Generational Calling to ‘Give Life’ to Black Stories
Reflecting on generational impact, Johnson highlighted the pivotal role of “Black Power activists” who obliterated social constructs and set the tone for creative freedom during the Black Arts Movement (1965-1975).
She points to figures such as David Driskell, Lowery Stokes Sims, Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, and Faith Ringgold as catalysts for representation and longevity, noting their contributions in expanding funding, visibility, and institutional support for Black women in cultural spaces.
“If it wasn’t for that work with Black women, feminists, artists, creatives, early museum administrators and curators, I wouldn’t have a job,” Johnson said. “I may be making art, but there might not be spaces for me to show my work.”
To that point, the Maryland creative dedicates her work to a culture where African American narratives thrive through healing, reflection and collective empowerment.
Among some of her most cherished local efforts is a mosaic portrait of Harriet Tubman on view at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, and most recently, The Leah Brock McCartney Project, a 17 x 34 feet mosaic of the first Black woman to graduate from George Washington University (GW) in 1954.
“To take that story that was relatively, dare I say, small in the canon of Black history as we know it, and to magnify it into a [30-something]-foot monumental art piece,” Johnson explained, “it really did just give me life.”
A project that began with GW alumni Naseem Haamid and Owen Manning, Johnson was specifically chosen to create the large-scale ceramic tile and glass canvas in honor of the late barrier-breaker.
Notably, McCartney went on to become the first woman municipal judge of record in the State of Missouri, by either appointment or election.
“What really charged me up was – yes, her story – but the heart of it was the students involved, how there was a…new generation of Black [scholars] that wanted to preserve her story,” Compton told The Informer. “I really just wanted to do right by them, to make sure that her life and legacy was preserved in that way.”
Dodd added Johnson’s ability to blend artistic curiosity, community engagement and historical awareness sets her apart as an artist and executive director – and positions her as a blueprint for the next class.
“She understands how art can bridge past and present, personal and collective experience, and consistently models the importance of connecting historical memory with contemporary creative practice,” she told The Informer. “She encourages artists and audiences alike to see their work as part of a broader cultural narrative.”
For the museum curator, elevating Black women in creative spaces isn’t just about honoring the past, it’s essential to shaping the future of the arts.
“Centering Black women’s voices…ensures that the spaces we build moving forward reflect a fuller, more honest, and more inclusive story of who we are,” said Dodd, “and who we can become.”
To the next generation of women artists of color, Johnson encourages all “to do it afraid,” while continually standing on the legacies paved by leaders like Stokes Sims, Thelma Golden, and even herself.
As for her own path, she looks forward to stewarding the breadth and beauty of the Black experience, wherever that may take her next.
“I’m at a point in my career where I’m trying to figure out the next chapter, and…I know I’m going to continue making art, I’m going to continue sharing art,” Johnson told The Informer, “and I’m going to have a good time doing it.”