Among the areas of activity in Fort Worden Historical State Park, Centrum has selected its first “In the Making” artist-in-residence for 2025, with work to be displayed through February.

“In the Making” is Centrum’s newest residency program.

“It’s designed to connect artists with the community through exhibitions, performances, temporary installations and other public-facing projects,” said Jaime Jaynes, director of marketing and communications for Centrum.

The first artist-in-residence is Jevon Brown, an American-born Bahamian and Jamaican visual artist and textile designer from Miami, Florida. As part of his residency he will be presenting the installation “Beyond the Fade: Exploring Black Masculinity through Art,” starting Thursday, Feb. 6.

“Jevon’s residency and upcoming show will be a great opportunity for the community to experience new, thought-provoking work firsthand,” Jaynes said.

After an upbringing and education on the East Coast, Brown was eager to expand his experiences by visiting the Pacific Northwest, just as he hopes his installation might widen the horizons of those who check it out at Fort Worden.

“I wanted to grow outside my comfort zone and meet new people,” Brown said. “I also wanted to expose audiences to a unique yet universal cultural perspective.”

“Beyond the Fade” draws from Brown’s view of the neighborhood barbershop as a gathering place that serves as “a cornerstone of Black masculinity,” and connects multiple generations of Black boys and men through a “lineage” of their hairstyles.

To that end, “Beyond the Fade” uses hair chart grids as icons, superimposing hair symbols with knitted, woven and silk-screened fabrics, prints, dyed materials and sculptural headdresses, with checkered floor tiles to further convey the barbershop aesthetic.

Brown intentionally selected a diverse palette of bright colors to emulate both the Miami landscape and the Caribbean cultural diaspora, thereby also making it “a collage of my own identities,” as a Black, queer man with a blended heritage.

“I want people to feel that warmth, especially in the winter in Port Townsend,” Brown laughed. “Washington state is such a stark contrast to that environment. It almost reminds me of New England.”

Brown also sought to mirror the depth and complexity of the cultural melange of his heritage and home by employing a broad and layered range of fiber art materials and weaving techniques. He draws from his training in textiles, for which he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Brown created his installation to serve as “a celebration of Black people’s deeply symbolic relationship to hair care,” since hair “holds spiritual energy” for Black communities, especially across the Caribbean diaspora.

Not only does Brown believe that such a celebration allows Black people “to express power, respect, individuality, and connect with their roots,” but he also aims for his installation to attest to “the inclusivity and empowerment” found within such spaces.

“The intersectionality of my upbringing in barbershop culture, with the sense of masculinity it instilled in me as a queer man when I was still a boy, is essential to who I am,” said Brown. His goals include creating “a welcoming environment” for queer and LGBTQ+ individuals of the Caribbean diaspora, where they “can see themselves reflected with pride and authenticity.”

And while he’s here, Brown also hopes to connect with other artists, and “start conversations” about their respective perspectives.