This collaborative evening between Luminarts and Artadia brings together artist communities for an intimate salon-style gathering exploring themes of collaboration, mentorship, and interdisciplinary work in contemporary art practice.
Inspired by a salon series initiated by Luminarts Fellow Tian Tang, this artist-centered program will feature presentations from Melissa Leandro, Breanna Robinson, and Tian Tang, with conversations moderated by Brendan Fernandes. Set in the beautiful Richard H. Driehaus Museum, the Artist Salon will bring together artists, arts professionals, cultural partners, and members of the public for presentations, thoughtful conversation, and networking.
“Luminarts x Artadia Artist Salon” will take place on Thursday, September 18, 2025, from 6:00–8:00 PM at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum.
About the artists:
Melissa Leandro (American, b.1989) lives in Chicago, IL. Her practice explores cultural identity and family memories through vibrant, layered textile works that incorporate both drawn and collected imagery. Using traditional and non-traditional techniques such as needlework, quilting, weaving, and batik dyeing, she reflects on family history, childhood fantasies, and nostalgic cultural ephemera. She received an MFA (2017) and a BFA (2012) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is presently at the Institute as a Lecturer. Leandro was awarded the Creative Artist Cohort Grant from the Center for Craft (2025), Artadia Award (2021), the Craft Fellowship Grant from the Illinois Arts Council (2020), and the Wingate Artist Fellowship from Vermont Studio Center Residency (2021). She has had recent solo exhibitions at The University Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Union League Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Rockford University (Rockford, IL), the Wright Museum of Art (Beloit, WI), ANDREW RAFACZ Gallery (Chicago, IL), Frieze Art Fair NYC (2020+2021), Intersect Palm Springs (2023), NADA Fair Miami (2023), and Expo Chicago (2023), Dallas Art Fair (2024), Houston Art Fair (2025). Recent group exhibitions include the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, DePaul Art Museum (Chicago, IL), and the Lubeznik Center for the Arts (Michigan City, IN). She has participated in residencies at The Vermont Studio Center, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Ragdale Foundation, Ox-Bow School of Art, Crosstown Arts, The Textiel Lab, and BOLT, a program through the Chicago Artists Coalition. Leandro is represented by Andrew Rafacz Gallery in Chicago. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections.
Melissa is a 2021 Chicago Artadia Awardee and a 2017 Luminarts Fellow in Visual Arts.
Breanna Nannette Robinson (b. 1995) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Chicago, IL. In her studio practice, Breanna explores methodologies of memory-making within discourses of identity, cultural production, and technology. Most recently, Breanna was listed as a 2025 Newcity Breakout Artist and was awarded a Luminarts Visual Arts Fellowship in 2024. Some of her favorite things include grid systems, staring at the moon, and treasure hunting.
Breanna is a 2024 Luminarts Fellow in Visual Arts.
Tian Tang is a classical pianist and interdisciplinary artist whose work reimagines the concert experience through literature, painting, and storytelling. She is the founder and curator of the ARIARTS Salon Series, a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue, and she performs a multimedia concert series that weaves visual narrative with sound to create immersive experiences. A Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Northwestern University, Tian has taught courses such as Music and Film and Western Art Music. She leads the Interactive Piano Workshop, a pedagogical project that rethinks teaching and learning beyond the traditional lecture format. Tian’s current creative ventures include A Cliffside Tree upon the Sea—an anthology of writings framed by musical memory and reflection. (Learn more at tiantangpiano.com.)
Tian is a 2018 Luminarts Fellow in Classical Music.
Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is a Canadian artist based in Chicago working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. His practice explores race, queer culture, protest, and collective movement through hybrid forms—part ballet, part political action, part queer celebration. A graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program, Fernandes has received awards from Arts Alliance Illinois, Artadia, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and the Smithsonian. His work has been presented at the Whitney Biennial, MoMA, the Guggenheim, Getty Museum, MCA Chicago, and the National Gallery of Canada. He is Associate Professor at Northwestern University and is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery (Chicago) and Susan Inglett Gallery (New York). Recent projects include exhibitions at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Prospect.6. A major solo exhibition debuts at the Driehaus Museum in 2025.
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), among many others. Fernandes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Theory, and Practice at Northwestern University. He is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago and Susan Inglett Gallery in New York. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, CO), the Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and Prospect.6 (New Orleans, LA). In spring 2026, a major new commission and solo exhibition will debut at the Driehaus Museum in Chicago.
Brendan is a 2019 Chicago Artadia Awardee, a member of Artadia’s Board of Directors, and judge for the Luminarts Visual Arts Fellowship Program.