UMass Amherst Libraries Host Exhibits, “The Soil Beneath Us” and “Harvesting Color: A Seasonal Journal”

The UMass Amherst Libraries will host two new exhibits this spring, “The Soil Beneath Us,” by artist and writer Malaika Ross, and “Harvesting Color: A Seasonal Journal,” by artist and herbalist/educator Tony(a) Lemos. Both exhibits run March 3 through May 30, 2025, and will be open for viewing during regular Library hours at the Science and Engineering Library, Lederle Graduate Research Center Lowrise, UMass Amherst. A reception celebrating both exhibits will be held on April 11, 1-3 p.m., in the Science and Engineering Library Learning Studio.

“The Soil Beneath Us”

Malaika Ross, a Caribbean American artist, earned her B.A. with a focus in soil microbiology from Hampshire College. She went on to study painting and drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design, San Francisco Art Institute, and the Marchutz School of Fine Arts. Additionally, she completed intensive coursework in sustainable farming, ecological restoration, and Hawaiian ethnobotany at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo.

The exhibit features Ross’s unconventional mixed media drawings and collages exploring ecological concepts based in the rhizosphere. She collages various microscope images of one type of soil microbe, then uses graphite, pencil, and ink to draw the collage and explore the shapes and patterns created as microbes merge, resulting in an abstracted soil landscape.

Ross will also be hosting a workshop related to her exhibit on April 11, 9-11:30 a.m. Registration is free and open to the public, but limited; please contact Paulina Borrego at pborrego@library.umass.edu to RSVP.

“Harvesting Color: A Seasonal Journal”

Tony(a) Lemos has worked as a community herbalist/educator in Western MA for over 25 years as director of Blazing Star Herbal School. She helps people connect with plants as allies for healing (physical / mentaland spiritual). Additionally, she has taught workshops on place-based art and book making regionally including at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, The New England Botanical Garden, The Provincetown Art Museum, Books in the Woods, and Shepherd and Maudsley Printmaking. She has shown her artwork in several local galleries both solo and in group shows and has curated several shows locally. She is a studio monitor and on the faculty at Zea Mays Printmaking and is currently in an MFA program through Clark University.

The exhibit features multidisciplinary art deeply influenced by the surrounding world. As a lifelong ecologist and plant person, Lemos’s work as an artist and healer sits at the intersection of art, ecology, and herbalism. She actively works with the alchemical processes of Green World, be it eco-printing, alternative photography methods, or foraging and medicine making.