Black Joy: Featuring Tony Concep, Isis Dua, Jonah Elijah, and Mary Harris

LAUNCH LA is proud to present BLACK JOY featuring Tony Concep, Isis Dua, Jonah Elijah,
and Mary Harris. The Opening Reception will be held at LAUNCH Gallery on Saturday,
November 22 nd from 4 – 8pm for these four local artists who completed a 32” x 48” painting
interpreting black joy during the 9th Annual Headwraps in the Park, a free music, art and
cultural celebration at Pan Pacific Park celebrated on Saturday, October 25, 2025 ,

2025 BLACK JOY Live Painting is presented by local non-profit arts organization LAUNCH LA
who believes that exposure to the arts enhances quality of life and strengthens community.
This program is made possible from a project grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of
Cultural Affairs with the support of LA County Department of Arts and Culture, the CA Arts
Council, Blick Art Materials on Beverly Blvd. and Descanso Restaurant - Flavors of Michoacan -
on the Miracle Mile.

About the Artists
Anthony Christopher Brown Jr. aka Tony Concep is a multidimensional artist and
creative director splitting time between Los Angeles and San Diego. Born in New Orleans and
raised in Charleston, he earned his BFA in Film Animation from Pratt Institute. His distinctive
visual language merges traditional African art forms with contemporary urban aesthetics and
design. His current "Blackbirds" collection features large-format mixed media paintings inspired
by West African Mapiko masks, serving as both "tribute and protest" against the erasure of
African art from education. Recently selected for the prestigious ICONIC NOW exhibition at
Launch Gallery, Los Angeles (July 2025), Tony continues to position art as a vehicle for cultural
preservation while maintaining technical innovation and authentic voice.

Isis Dua is a contemporary painter, muralist and performing artist from Maryland currently
based Downtown Los Angeles, CA. She is self taught and has been painting professionally
since 2020. She uses acrylic,mixed media, and sculpture to focus on ancient culture to inspire
the viewer to question traditional western education systems, preserve natural habitats and
indigenous ways of life. Isis draws inspiration from Indigenous American, West African and
Egyptian culture, she is influenced by Cubism and artists such as Lois Mailou Jones, Kerry
James Marshall, George Condo, and Betye Saar. She has been exhibited with Aziz Gallerie,
Shafranski Art Foundation, Valence Projects, Joyce Gordon Gallery, 90220 Gallery, BUTTER
Art Fair and featured in Burning Man 2023; with murals in Historical Leimert Park and on
Melrose Blvd in Los Angeles, CA.

Within Jonah Elijah’s narratives, the past, present, and future tend to blur into identity through
mediums of portraiture, language, and mass media. Elijah fuses personal memories with
broader mythologies, religion, and history to probe the complexities and humanity of Black
Americans. Elijah received his BA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at San Antonio in
2017. MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2020, his studio practice has evolved
through residencies such as the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, where he created the Virginia
Series in response to the center’s historic land in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in
Amherst. At VCCA in France, he developed his Reflexion Series, using multiple handheld
mirrors to paint individual portraits of family and friends from his daily life. Further inviting
viewers into his personal narrative, Elijah continues to explore memory and identity highlighting
the joy within Black culture.

Mary Harris is a Los Angeles–based multimedia fine artist, creative entrepreneur, and a third-
generation painter originally from NJ. She sees herself as both an artist and a scribe of our
times—mixing colors to capture the people, places, and stories that shape American culture.
Her practice bridges painting, live art activations, and community-centered projects. She has
partnered with leading brands and organizations including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Home Depot,
Hyatt, ASCAP, and Wingstop, creating large-scale murals, immersive experiences, and live
painting performances that connect audiences through creativity and storytelling. For Harris, art
is both a responsibility and a gift—a way to document history while inviting others to see the
world through new eyes.