MORGAN OVERTON
Morgan Overton is a multidisciplinary visual artist working across watercolor, graphite, and layered mixed media to create figurative works that center Black interiority, ancestral memory, and Afrofuturism. Her meditative compositions explore the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the human condition, affirming the enduring dignity of Black life across time.
Grounded in a background in psychology, social work, and politics, her work resists dominant narratives that confine Black existence to struggle, and instead, creates space for sacred presence and self-determination. Drawing on genealogical and historical research, she reclaims fragments of Black American lineage while constructing ethereal, symbolic environments that feel historical, contemporary, and speculative at once.
From 2023–2025, Overton served as the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the University of Pittsburgh’s Frederick Honors College, where she explored art as a tool for democratic preservation through exhibitions, workshops, and interdisciplinary dialogue. She has also held residencies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City (Painting and Mixed Media, 2025), and the August Wilson House in Pittsburgh. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the United States Capitol (Russell Senate Building) and group exhibitions including the London Art Biennale, Helsinki (Finland), St. Paul de Vence (France), and across the United States. A sought-after thought leader in arts and culture, Overton regularly delivers artist talks and guest lectures at universities and cultural institutions, engaging audiences in dialogue around the intersections of art and social change.Overton has also curated large-scale exhibitions at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
She holds a Master of Social Work with a focus on Community Organizing and Social Action, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Studio Art from the University of Pittsburgh. From 2022-2024, Overton made history as the first Black woman elected Vice Chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Party. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh’s Community ARTivist Award in 2024, and induction into the Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 in 2019.
MORGAN OVERTON
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA; living and working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
EDUCATION
2020
University of Pittsburgh
Masters of Social Work
Focus: Community Organizing and Social Action
2016
University of Pittsburgh
Bachelors in Psychology
Minor in Studio Art
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026
America 2276, No Name Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
The Land Knows Our Names: Black in Appalachia, Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, PA
Voices of Pitt, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
After the Dream, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
2025
One in Four, One in Eight, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2023
I Stand On Their Shoulders, US Capitol Russell Senate Building, Washington, DC
2019
I Am My Ancestors, Braddock Carnegie Library, Braddock, PA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
New Member Exhibition, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Black Owned Galleries - Ross-Sutton Gallery, ARTSY
2025
115x115, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
London Art Biennale, London, England
50 Years 50 Works , Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, PA
Brooklyn x Pittsburgh: The Art of Industry, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA
Being/Seen, August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Phenomenal Woman, Moody Jones Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh 111th Annual, Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
The Seed and the Sower, Arts Council Fayetteville, Fayetteville, NC
2024
Woven in Time - Women of Visions Booth - Spectrum Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL
Mavuno, Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, PA
Body of Work, Persad Center - Art for Change Auction, Body of Work, Pittsburgh, PA
Rhapsody of Nonsense, Zarin Art Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
Love Untold, Last Days London, London, England
Out of the Blue, Superb Art Gallery, New York, NY
Light, Art House NYC, Light, New York, NY
August Wilson House, Confluence of Creativity: Art by Morgan Overton and Darrell Kinsel
Carnegie Museum of Art, Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2023
Art on the Walls, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Dormont, PA
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gallery Crawl, Pittsburgh, PA
Martin Luther King Jr., Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2022
Going UP, Uptown Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Women of Visions, Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Paris - New York Heritage Festival, Paris, France
Pittsburgh Paints, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh PA
Progeny of Change, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA
2021
University of Pittsburgh, Black Lives in Focus, Pittsburgh, PA
International Free Expression Project,
There is Black Art in the Future, Pittsburgh, PA
2020
University of Pittsburgh, Black to the Future, Pittsburgh, PA
2019
La Maison Baldwin, Women on Baldwin, St. Paul de Vence, France2018
2018
The Whole9Gallery, Black Dreamers Matter, Culver City, CA
2017
Black Market Gallery, Fear of a Black Planet, Roxbury, MA
CURATORIAL WORK
2024
Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh, August Wilson African American Cultural Center
2023
Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Artwork for Racial Equity Consciousness Inq
SPECIAL PROJECTS
2025
Custom Artwork on Auction, Romare Bearden Foundation Gala
Custom Artwork on Auction, Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Gala
Live Painter, August Wilson Center, Poetry Unplugged
Live Painter, Homeless Children's Education Fund Gala
Live Painter, Real Estate Gala
2024
Featured Artist, Black History Month, Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business
2022
Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday Poster
RESIDENCIES
2025
Artist-In-Residence, Painting and Mixed Media, School of Visual Arts
2024
Artist in Residence, August Wilson House, Pittsburgh, PA
2023 - 2025
Artist-In-Residence, University of Pittsburgh Frederick Honors College, "Democracy in Focus"
MEMBERSHIPS
Board Member, Brew House Arts
Member, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
Member, Women of Visions
Member, Shiftworks Public Art
Co-Curator, DNAWORKS
Cohort Member Artist-Activist Academy, 1Hood Media
JUROR EXPERIENCE
2024
Congressional Arts Competition, Congresswoman Summer Lee Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art
2020
Youth Arts Contest, City of Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission
WORKSHOPS AND TEACHING
2025
Workshop, Visioning Justice at Building a Beloved Community, University of Pittsburgh
Guest Lecturer, Women's Leadership, Chatham University
2024
Guest Lecturer, Introduction to Social Work, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
Guest Lecturer, Chancellor's Scholars, University of Pittsburgh Frederick Honors College
Guest Lecturer, Creative Economy, Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College
2023
Guest Lecturer, City-University Life, Point Point University
2022
Guest Lecturer, Community Organizing, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
Guest Lecturer, Organizations and Public Policy, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
Guest Lecturer, Social Justice In Our Community, Chatham
2021
Guest Lecturer, Community Organizing, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
2019
Guest Lecturer, North American Indigenous Music Seminar, Carnegie Mellon University
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2024
Panelist, Pennsylvania Arts and Humanities
Panel Moderator, Arts and Economic Prosperity in Allegheny County, Carnegie Museum of Art
Panel Moderator, Fireside Chat with Carnegie Museums CEO and Citizens Bank CEO, Andy Warhol Museum Pop District
Panelist, Voting is Social Work, University of Pittsburgh
2023
Panelist, Ready to Run, Chatham University
2022
Presenter, Transformational Leadership Symposium, Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Program, Robert Morris University
2021
Panelist, Pitt Civic Action Week
Panelist, Fannie Lou Hamer's America, Chatham University
PRESS AND MEDIA
Her new gallery offers a third space for art and inspiration in Lawrenceville
Meet Morgan Overton, Canvas Rebel
When words won’t suffice, Morgan Overton communicates through art, Pitt Wire
Local artist combines art and politics with Artists for Harris-Walz event, TRIB Live
'Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh' initiative calls on arts to shape more equitable future, TRIB Live
Michelle Gainey, Fantasy Zellars curate 'Resilience and revolution' exhibit, TRIB Live
“There Is Black Art in the Future” Exhibition Opens on Juneteenth, Pittsburgh Magazine
19 "Black Panther" Artworks That Will Literally Have You Screaming, "Yaaaassss", Buzzfeed
BOOK COVERS
Black Freedom Struggle in Urban Appalachia, University of Kentucky Press