'An amazing community': Black artists from Kansas and Nebraska unite for an exhibition in Emporia
The 27 works in the 'Onyx Art & Culture Showcase' are on view through February 28 at the Lyon County History Center and Museum.
The “Onyx Art & Culture Showcase” at the Lyon County History Center and Museum braids together history, art, and culture to convey the Black experience. Seven artists contributed 27 works, including paintings, ceramics, mixed media, and photography, which fill the first floor of the museum.
More than 300 people attended the opening reception, which, coincided with Emporia First Friday’s art walk. The exhibition is on view through February 28.
Onyx is an art collective composed of Kansas and Nebraska Black artists who aim to bring cultural representation to public spaces. The group formed after Emporia artist Deon Morrow connected with Dilino Casteneda through family friends. Casteneda is an Emporia native who is now based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The two created Onyx to build a bridge between their two art communities.
Emporia artist Deon Morrow and Emporia native Dilino Casteneda linked up to create a regional artist collaborative. Photos courtesy of the artists.
This is the collective’s first exhibition. It’s also the first time Casteneda has shown his art in Emporia.
“I didn't know how to quite feel about it at first, coming back here, because I basically ran away from this town,” he said. “But since I've been back, it's been very uplifting. It's like a breath of fresh air.”
Casteneda said he enjoyed meeting many new people, and the “old faces that were coming in that remembered me when I was a little boy, that really moved me.”
Deon Morrow, “Riot Series (tryptich),” mixed media on canvas, 48 by 60 inches. Photos courtesy of the artist.
The exhibition prompted Morrow to reflect on what his Black experience in Emporia means to him.
“My experiences may not be the most normal experiences for Black folk,” he said. “I grew up country, little town, and my morals are shaped by my surroundings, and I just so happen to have an amazing community … I think you can see that through my art.”
Morrow’s pieces “CD Ministry” and “Church Folk” focus on growing up in the Saint James Missionary Baptist Church, where he used to sing in the choir with his mom. He uses a bright and limited color palette to add exuberance to the soulful subjects of his scenes.
The Onyx artists’ inspirations include figures like Malcolm X, Senator Ernie Chambers, and activist Dominique Morgan, as well as more abstract concepts like the tension between chaos and order.
While visitors described some of the art as “feel-good,” the troubling side of Black history is also represented. In paintings like “Critique of Political Economy as a Shadow of Its Former Self” and “Pursuit of Happyness” by Jelani Billie-Soto, viewers come face-to-face with evil, including depictions of lynching and police brutality.
Jelani Billie-Soto chats with gallery-goers in front of two of his paintings, from left: “Critique of Political Economy as a Shadow of its Former Self,” acrylic on canvas, 36 by 48 inches; “Pursuit of Happyness,” acrylic on canvas, 30 by 48 inches. Courtesy photos by Kevin Rabas.
“Even when I was making them, they left me with a sick feeling in my stomach,” Billie-Soto said.
He asked himself if he should be making these pieces but resolved, “If we want to actually heal and mend as a society, if you can't look at that and feel empathy for the imaginary subject in the painting, then what would you feel for a real human that's going through the same thing on a daily basis? So, I think that is important for people to see during Black History Month, but also at any time.”
Painter Leon Morrow said working with the other artists and coming together as a community to celebrate Onyx “shows that we can work together to get something done” when it comes to building greater empathy and understanding.
His paintings, all portraits of his family members and himself, are collectively titled “Art from the House.” He said he picked these pieces because “they are Black history.”
Works by Shawnequa Linder, from left: “A Moment in Time,” 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 16 by 20 inches; “Bye Bye Birdie,” 2024, mixed media on canvas, 24 by 18 by 1.5 inches. Photos courtesy of the artist.
Kristen Oberle, retired Emporia Middle School art teacher and chair of the Emporia First Friday board of directors, said it’s important to have these pieces as part of First Friday and Black History Month.
“Emporia has a deep Black history that I don't think a lot of people know about,” she said. “To see this, and for Deon to get this going, is good. Everybody has a history, but it's something that needs to be seen.”
Photography works by Dilino Casteneda. Photos courtesy of the artist.
Lisa Soller, co-executive director of the history center, said being included in First Friday and having Onyx in the history center is “a natural fit and a natural evolution for us to go beyond history and also include culture. This is why we do exhibits like Onyx — to make sure that everybody's story is told.”
When Soller started working at the history center twelve years ago, she realized that there weren’t many artifacts “to tell the story of disenfranchised groups,” she said. “It broke my heart.”
Visitor Koby Smith touched on the significance of art as artifact: “Art can tell history in so many ways. It can also describe how people feel in a way, as well, because it’s more than just hearing words from somebody. It’s your own feelings.”
Lily Stennis-Vinson, "Lil Gurl Beauty Is Pain," 2025, ceramic, hair, 11 by 8 inches. Photos courtesy of the artist.
The history center not only wants to be a place to gather stories but also physical materials that help reflect Emporia’s diverse communities. To help with that, Morrow, the showcase organizer, donated his five pieces from the exhibition to the history center.
”I'm from here. I'm a local boy, so it wouldn't be right if I just went and put this somewhere else,” he said. “I want this for our city. I'm so proud to be from here. I want to be able to share this with people beyond me.”
The energy of this show reminds me that while we reflect on history, we are also making it — right here, right now. These artists are contributing to something meaningful in Emporia and beyond. Onyx is a show that celebrates the cultural representation and appreciation at the heart of Black History Month.
The Details
“Onyx Art & Culture Showcase”
February 6-28, 2026 at the Lyon County History Center, 711 Commercial St. in Emporia, Kansas
The exhibition is located on the first floor. The Lyon County History Center is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is free, and the facility is accessible to people with physical disabilities.
For purchase information, email Deon Morrow at world.dm@gmail.com.
Linzi Garcia is a journalist, editor, teacher, and international poet. She resides in Emporia, Kansas, where she works for Meadowlark Press and House of Morrow. Linzi is a recipient of a NextGen Under 30 Kansas Award and Kansas Governor’s Arts Award.
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