INhairITANCE

Location: AFTS Gallery, 1500 Main Street, Springfield MA FL 2 

Exhibition Dates: March 1, 2026- May 17, 2026 

Artists: Sonya Clark, Jayoung Yoon, Louise Laplante, Nirmal Raja, Funlola Coker, Veronica Perez

AFTS Gallery is pleased to present INhairITANCE, a group exhibition that expands the global conversation around hair—not with a single narrative but instead offering a layered, collaborative exploration of personal adornment as it intersects with belief systems, gender, colonial histories, and cultural resistance. 

INhairITANCE invites viewers to consider hair not merely as an aesthetic choice, but as a living archive—one shaped by ancestry, survival, ritual, power, and self-definition. Through a range of contemporary works, the exhibition examines how hair functions as both an intimate marker of identity and a public site of regulation, projection, and meaning. 

“Hair, in some way, shape, or form, affects all of us,” says Gallery Manager Christina White. “It is deeply tied to how we see ourselves, how we present ourselves to the world, and how we are culturally perceived. This exhibition was important to me because it opens up space for hair as a shared experience across communities. One that carries memory, tension, pride, and resistance. By bringing together artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, INhairITANCE becomes a collaborative space rather than a singular story.”

“INhairITANCE is asking viewers to sit with complexity,” says Sierra Myers, Executive Director at AFTS Gallery. “Hair carries meaning that is personal, political, spiritual, and historical all at once. This exhibition resists simplification and instead invites reflection on how adornment becomes a conversation. The works presented here challenge us to think about what we inherit, what we reject, and what we choose to carry.” 

Through this exhibition, AFTS Gallery continues its commitment to presenting work that fosters critical dialogue while remaining deeply rooted in community experience. Inheritance is not intended to offer conclusions, but rather to open space—for conversation, recognition, and shared understanding.

Photography: Sophie Markham

CALL FOR MAKERS: MRKT. by AFTS

Art for the Soul Gallery is seeking hair-centered businesses and makers from across Massachusetts and New England to showcase and sell their work in MRKT. by AFTS Gallery alongside our upcoming hair exhibition, opening February 2026!

Requirements:

Participating businesses must be based in Massachusetts or surrounding areas. All submitted work must be handmade, original, and artist-designed. No mass produced or commercially manufactured items will be accepted.

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

Submission Form Link:

Click here to submit!

Sophie Markham: Room To Grow November 23, 2025 - February 15, 2026

Art for the Soul Gallery is proud to present Room to Grow, a photography retrospective installation by Springfield, Massachusetts–based artist Sophie A. Markham, opening November 23, 2025.

Through her lens, Sophie A transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary, each image an invitation to slow down. Known for her observant street photography, Sophie’s work captures the beauty, humor, and humanity of everyday life. Her photographs, both intimate and expansive, explore themes of memory, connection, and the evolving landscape of our shared culture.

Room to Grow encapsulates Sophie’s artistic journey, from her early explorations of the mundane to her most recent works that examine how social media, technology, and modern living have altered the way we experience one another. Her images are honest, unfiltered reflections of the world as it is, yet always open to interpretation and emotion.

I am thrilled to be featuring Sophie’s work,” says Sierra Myers, Executive Director. “Her photography has become a vital part of the visual fabric of our community. Showcasing Room to Grow as the first exhibition in our new space feels especially fitting, it offers viewers an intimate glimpse through Sophie’s eyes at Springfield and its neighboring communities.”

When asked how she would summarize the exhibition, Sophie Markham shares “ It’s so funny because while I was painting the gallery earlier, I was thinking about all of the memorabilia that will be included. I’ll have work from people I’m no longer in contact with, old friends, colleagues, my parents, etc. but despite no longer speaking to a lot of these faces, I still find them to be a big part in who I am today. I am a museum exhibit of everything I’ve ever loved.”