Simeon Oyeyemi is one of the artists participating in the exhibition “Unity: Creating a Better Tomorrow” sponsored by the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area.

Simeon tells me he has been an artist since he was still in preschool. In the late 80’s he lived in New York where he learned from three famous artists – Haring, Warhol and Basquiat. He met these people after he painted over graffiti by Keith Haring. Haring felt Simeon should learn Haring’s style before painting over his work, and the relationship was born.

Simeon is a graduate of Central State and has also studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He works out of a large studio in the building occupied by Central State West. Simeon works in several different styles, and will be exhibiting three very different pieces in the show.

“One piece is my drawing of Frederick Douglas” he told me. “Another piece is a 1/25 scale model cast iron truck on which I’ve painted graffiti. The third piece is part of a series I’m doing that relates to African art. My father is from Nigeria, and I’ve had a chance to visit there. The figures in this series relate to some of the art I saw in Africa.”