The BAG’s fifth artist collaboration kicks off June 1. This cycle spotlights renowned Jamaican artist, Melissa Koby.

Melissa Koby is a Tampa-based visual artist whose work honors the beauty, strength, and complexity of Black women and women of color. Through digital art, fine art, and paper collage, Koby creates evocative portraits that celebrate identity, resilience, and self-expression. Her work is a form of visual storytelling with layering color, texture, and symbolism to capture moments of introspection, transformation, and empowerment.

Rooted in her Jamaican heritage and shaped by her lived experiences as a woman of color, Koby’s practice is both personal and universal. Each piece is an exploration of how Black women navigate and reshape the world, often in quiet but powerful ways. Her use of organic shapes, bold palettes, and mixed media speaks to the emotional landscapes her subjects embody, often exploring themes of grace, vulnerability, and strength in coexistence.

Storytelling is central to Koby’s creative process. Whether through a digital portrait or a hand-cut collage, she seeks to amplify voices that have been historically overlooked, creating spaces where women of color can see themselves reflected with dignity and depth. Her work encourages reflection, connection, and healing, inviting viewers to witness not only the outer beauty of her subjects but also the narratives that shape them.

Melissa Koby’s art is an ongoing celebration of joy. It is a reminder that transformation is not only possible but a powerful reclamation. Through every piece, she reaffirms the presence, power, and poetry of Black women, and the stories they continue to tell.

The collaboration culminates in a one-night exhibit, Friday, June 19, at The Tampa EDITION, 8-11 PM, in the Arts Club. The free event is open to the public. The collaboration is made possible by our partners.