SELECTED PRESS
2024
48Hills - “The Phenomenal Triumph of Lava Thomas” by Lou Fancher, October 29, 2024.
Alta Journal - “Portrait of Phenomenal Women” by Shaquille Heath, October 3, 2024.
The San Francisco Bay Times - “Community Celebration & Unveiling of Monument Honoring Dr. Maya Angelou” October 3, 2024.
The Day - “Lyman Allyn features works by African American Artists from Across the Country” October 3, 2024.
Axios San Francisco - “San Francisco's first-ever Black art week honoring artists around the Bay” by Shawna Chen, October 3, 2024.
Post News Group - ”Phenomenal Woman’ Maya Angelou Monument Unveiled at San Francisco Main Library” by Oakland Post, October 2, 2024
The San Francisco Standard - “‘This city owes us a lot’: Black artists rally support for first-ever art week” by Sam Mondros, October 1, 2024.
San Francisco Examiner - “SF touts ongoing progress of Civic Center revamp as success 10 months in” by James Salazar, September 21, 2024.
Axios San Francisco - “SF unveils its first public monument honoring a Black woman” by Megan Rose Dickey, September 20, 2024.
San Francisco Chronicle - “‘Still I Rise’: S.F. unveils Maya Angelou monument after years of controversy” by Tony Bravo, September 20, 2024.
NBC Bay Area - “Maya Angelou monument unveiled in San Francisco” by NBC Bay Area Staff, September 19, 2024.
Fox 2 San Francisco - “Maya Angelou monument unveiled at San Francisco Public Library” by Andre Torrez and KTVU Staff, September 19, 2024.
New York Times - “Black Art Week in San Francisco Bay Area Is in the Works for the Fall” by Jori Finkel, August 14, 2024.
Datebook - “S.F. museum to launch first ever weeklong celebration of Black art and culture” by Linda Liu, August 14, 2024.
San Francisco Chronicle - “S.F. monument of Maya Angelou, at center of City Hall controversy, will finally be unveiled” by Tony Bravo, July 24, 2024.
2023
SF Chronicle Datebook - "Review: Final opening exhibitions at ICA SF show promise fulfilled at Dogpatch museum" by Tony Bravo, February 25, 2023.
KQED - “At ICA SF, ‘Resting Our Eyes’ Affirms Black Women’s Right to Leisure” by Ariana Proehl, February 23, 2023.
The Cut - “Women at Rest: Ten Black artists imagine the freedom of leisure in ICA SF’s ‘Resting Our Eyes’ exhibition” by Shaquille Heath, January 19, 2023.
2022
BURNAWAY - “Homecoming: In Conversation with Lava Thomas and Dr. Bridget R. Cooks” by Bryn Evans, December 15, 2022.
The Atlanta Journal - Constitution - “Review: Ordinary people commemorated in Lava Thomas’ powerful drawings at Spelman” by Felicia Feaster, November 8, 2022.
Phillips - "Curator's Picks: What to See in Atlanta" by Storm Ascher, September 2022.
WABE - “Lava Thomas' new exhibition 'Homecoming' centers on Black History at the Spelman Museum of Fine Art” by City Lights Staff, September 16, 2022.
The Atlanta Journal - Constitution - “New director brings power of female activism to Spelman Museum of Fine Art” by Gail O’Neill, August 19, 2022.
Alta Journal - “The Seeker” by Faith Adiele, June 29, 2022.
Troy Public Radio - “Portraits from the Montgomery Bus Boycott” by In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson, April 27, 2022.
Montgomery Advertiser - “Heroines of the Montgomery Bus Boycott celebrated in new exhibition” by Staff Reports, April 6, 2022.
Berkeleyside - “Pencils are my weapons’: Lava Thomas tackles lack of art by Black women in BAMPFA collection” by Gabrielle Selz, March 20, 2022.
San Francisco Chronicle - “7 Bay Area art exhibitions not to miss this spring” by Tony Bravo, March 16, 2022.
4Columns - “The Black Index” by Aruna D’Souza, February 25, 2022.
2021
Hyperallergic - “The Many Feminisms of Contemporary Art” by Bridget Quinn, September 6, 2021.
Art and Cake - “The Aftermath of a Spiritual Revival” by Sydney Walters, July 3, 2021.
Religion Unplugged - "The Exhibit 'Otherwise/Revival' At Bridge Projects Explores Impact Of Azusa Street Revival In L.A." by Angela Groom, June 23, 2021.
Hyperallergic - “Your Concise Los Angeles Art Guide for April 2021” by Matt Stromberg and Elisa Wouk Almino, April 6, 2021.
Getty - "Seeing Blackness" by Anya Ventura, February 25, 2021.
Hyperallergic - “Six Black Artists Test the Limits of Portraiture” by Allison Conner, February 19, 2021.
LA Weekly - “The Black Index and the Agency of Representation” by Shana Nys Dambrot, February 11, 2021.
San Francisco Chronicle - “Lava Thomas speaks out: A candid interview with the artist on saga of S.F.’s Maya Angelou monument” by George McCalman, February 7, 2021.
San Francisco Chronicle -”YCBA 100 honors Lava Thomas, 1619 founder and more” by Tony Bravo, February 2, 2021.
ABC7 News San Francisco - “Celebrating Black voices: Here’s a look at Dr. Maya Angelou’s Bay Area connection, legacy” by Jobina Fortson, February 2, 2021.
Los Angeles Times - ‘We exist in other ways…to see us, to find us’—UC Irvine debuts ‘The Black Index’ exhibition by Lilly Nguyen, January 16, 2021.
2020
Robb Report - “This $6.8 Million San Francisco Condo Doubles as a Gallery Showcasing Black Artists” by Helena Madden, November 18, 2020.
KQED - “SFAC Awards the Maya Angelou Monument to Lava Thomas, Finally” by Sarah Hotchkiss, November 16, 2020.
San Francisco Chronicle - “S.F. City Hall wrong made right: Eye-catching Maya Angelou Monument to be installed after all” by Heather Knight, November 6, 2020.
New York Times - “San Francisco Reinstates Winning Design for Maya Angelou” by Zachary Small, November 5, 2020.
SFIST - “Previously Selected Maya Angelou Monument Reinstated, Planned For Civic Center Installation” by Jay Barmann, November 3, 2020.
The New University - “The UCI Black Alumni Chapter Hosts The Black Index Art Exhibition: A New Tomorrow” by Campus News Writer, November 1, 2020.
KQED - “What’s On Your Ballot?: Artist Lava Thomas” by Brandon Yu, October 7, 2020.
San Francisco Chronicle - “Artists Lava Thomas, Marcela Pardo Ariza named recipients of 2020 San Francisco Artadia Awards,” by Tony Bravo, August, 24, 2020.
New York Times - “San Francisco Apologizes to Artist Over Maya Angelou Monument,” by Zachary Small, August 5, 2020.
ArtNews - “‘There Should Be Greater Transparency’: Public Art Becomes a Political Battleground” by Zachary Small, August 4, 2020.
SFAC - “SFAC Announcement of Maya Angelou Monument” by Denise Bradley-Tyson, August 3, 2020.
KQED - “SFAC Apologizes to Lava Thomas for Mishandling Maya Angelou Monument,” by Chloe Veltman, August 3, 2020.
KQED - “SF to evaluate public monuments, but community questions its track record,” by Chloe Veltman, July 16, 2020.
San Francisco Chronicle -“Toppling of SF statues springs from city’s long history of inaction: ‘It fell on deaf ears,” by Heather Knight, June 26, 2020.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / Art + Action - “Ashara Ekundayo in Conversation with Lava Thomas, Pt. 3: Spirituality and the ‘Artist as First Responder’,” by Ashara Ekundayo, May 18, 2020.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / Art + Action - “Ashara Ekundayo in Conversation with Lava Thomas, Pt. 2: Family, Artifacts, and the Census” by Ashara Ekundayo, May 15, 2020.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts / Art + Action - “Ashara Ekundayo in Conversation with Lava Thomas, Pt. 1: Practice, Labor, and Leadership,” by Ashara Ekundayo, May 13, 2020.
Culture Type - "National Portrait Gallery: African Americans and Racial Justice are Popular Subjects at Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition" by Victoria L. Valentine, February 21, 2020.
San Francisco Chronicle - “Maya Angelou wouldn’t approve of this statue fiasco,” By Caille Millner, January 10, 2020.
2019
Hyperallergic - “In San Francisco, a Design for Maya Angelou Monument Is Approved, Then Suddenly Scraped,” by Emily Wilson, October 23, 2019.
San Francisco Chronicle - “Artist’s vision for Maya Angelou statue crushed by City Hall’s dysfunction,” by Heather Knight, October 19, 2019.
KQED - “Plans for Maya Angelou Monument in San Francisco Face Long Delay,” by Chloe Veltman, October 17, 2019.
The Art Newspaper - “San Francisco Selected an artist to create a monument to Maya Angelou—then rejected her,” by Zachary Small, October 17, 2019.
San Francisco Examiner - “Proposals for sculpture to honor Maya Angelou meet with rejection,” by Joshua Sabatini, October 16, 2019.
Hyperallergic - “San Francisco Will Raise Maya Angelou Sculpture,” by Zachary Small, August 5, 2019.
San Francisco Chronicle - “Statue of Maya Angelou comes into sharp relief as SF diversifies public art,” by Heather Knight, July 21, 2019.
Strange Fire Collective - “Q&A: Lava Thomas,” by Zora J. Murff, March 21, 2019.
Artforum - “Lava Thomas: Rena Bransten Gallery,” by Ara Osterweil, January 2019, Vol. 57, No. 5.
2018
San Francisco Chronicle - “Year in review: big changes in the visual arts world,” by Charles Desmarais, December 17, 2018.
SquareCylinder - “Best of 2018,” by David M. Roth, December 22, 2018.
Daily Bruin - “Exhibit explores optimism, beauty amid political climate,” by Alissa Evans, November 20, 2018.
San Francisco Chronicle - “When Homemakers Became Heroes: Lava Thomas Drawings at Rena Bransten,” by Charles Desmarais, October 4, 2018.
San Francisco Chronicle - “At galleries and at Trails Forever, stories—and nature—shared,” by Leah Garchik, October 3, 2018.
SquareCylinder - “Lava Thomas @ Rena Bransten,” by Mark von Proyen, September 28, 2018.
KQED Arts - “At Rena Bransten Gallery, Lava Thomas’ ‘Mugshots’ Are Drawn Out of History,” by Roula Seikaly, September 20, 2018.
San Francisco Chronicle - “An Uncertain Approach to Political Art at di Rosa,” by Charles Desmarais, August 18, 2018.
San Francisco Chronicle - “What’s up in SF Museums and Galleries this Fall,” by Charles Desmarais, August 22, 2018.
KQED Arts - “Part Two of di Rosa’s ‘Be Not Still’ a Lesson in the Importance of Being Earnest” by Gretchen Giles, June 28, 2018.
East Bay Times - “Walnut Creek: African-American art show opens at Bedford Gallery,” by Lou Fancher, April 13, 2018.
Nashville Scene - “Two Shows at Zeitgeist Gallery Explore the Power of the Feminine,” by Laura Hutson, January 25, 2018.
2017
Jewish News of Northern California - “Remember the Sabbath: 57 artists respond in imaginative exhibit,” by Miller, Robert Nagler, November 19, 2017 | PDF
2016
San Francisco Chronicle - “In America's campaign, the pounding beat goes on,” by Leah Garchick, September 15, 2016.
SquareCylinder - “These American Lives at Rena Bransten,” by David M. Roth, April 27, 2016.
2015
San Francisco Chronicle - “Lava Thomas' art with mirrors helps viewers reflect,” by Jessica Zack, July 31, 2015 | PDF
San Francisco Chronicle - “At Saturday's opening of Lava Thomas' "Looking Back and Seeing Now," by Leah Garchik, July 15, 2015
East Bay Express - “Lava Thomas' Tambourine Dream,” by Sarah Burke, July 15, 2015 | PDF
2014
San Francisco Chronicle - “MoAD cuts the ribbon and welcomes art lovers to reimagined space,” by Leah Garchik, December 4, 2014 | PDF
San Francisco Chronicle - “MoAD reopens with big changes and plans,” by Steven Winn, December 1, 2014 | PDF
San Francisco Examiner - “M.O.A.D Presents Works From Lava Thomas,” SF Examiner, November 30, 2014 | PDF
San Francisco Chronicle - “Lava Thomas' art rooted in biography,” by Steven Winn, November 29, 2014 | PDF