News and Press Releases

For Immediate Release: June 12, 2025

Contact: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov - (929) 313-7624

MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS “SOARING HIGH,” ITS FIRST-EVER FASHION EXHIBITION, BY MFTA DESIGNER-IN-RESIDENCE DAVEED BAPTISTE

The Exhibition Delves into Baptiste’s Haitian Immigrant Heritage, Exploring His Journey of Cultural Identity, Queerness, and Coming of Age in Black American Society

The Opening Reception on Thursday, June 12 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM will Include Live Mixing with DJ Donis, an Interactive Photobooth, Drinks Sponsored by Ten to One Rum, and Exclusive Access to the Designer

MFTA presents Soaring High by Daveed Baptiste. Photo courtesy of Jordan Blake.

Photos of Daveed Baptiste and his residency at MFTA are available here.

Queens, NY — Materials for the Arts (MFTA) is pleased to present Designer-in-Residence Daveed Baptiste’s “Soaring High,” MFTA’s first-ever fashion exhibition. In the exhibition, Baptiste constructs garments whose every stitch, hem, and design explore his identity as a Haitian immigrant artist in the United States. As MFTA’s Designer-in-Residence, Baptiste has had access to free space, supplies, and other resources through the MFTA warehouse, where he has developed the work featured in “Soaring High” over the past year.

Born in Port au Prince, Haiti, Baptiste immigrated to Miami, Florida at a young age alongside his two siblings. Immersed in a heavily Haitian community in Miami, Baptiste found a home away from home while navigating his cultural identity, Blackness, and queerness in this new landscape.

A self-described interdisciplinary artist, Baptiste’s creative practice has evolved with time; photography, drawing, designing, and sewing are all a part of his artistry. For his solo exhibition, Baptiste has explored an entirely new method of designing: laser-etching and distressing on denim material. Thanks to MFTA’s partnership with long-time material donor Blueprint Denim (BPD) Washhouse, Baptiste was able to utilize the full-service commercial denim wet and dry process facility —the only one of its kind on the east coast— to create his laser-etched designs. Primarily interested in portraying hair through these designs, Daveed’s denim-based artwork amplifies their cultural significance in the Black community. Bantu knots, taper fades, intricate cornrows — each style acts as a signifier, individually indicating their own relation to the intersection of class, status, and culture through this impressive textile tapestry.

“Through his deeply personal and innovative work, Daveed Baptiste gives voice to the layered experience of immigrant identity, queerness, and Black culture, using fashion as a medium for storytelling and cultural celebration,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “Materials for the Arts is a hub for artistic experimentation and opportunity, and MFTA’s inaugural fashion exhibition is an inspiring example of how the city can offer resources that give artists room to experiment, take risks, and ultimately create transformative art that connects with all New Yorkers. The Designers-in-Residence program shows artists, educators, and other cultural workers across the city how these simple, free materials can provide a medium to create and communicate a whole universe of possibilities.”

"Having Daveed join as our Designer-in-Residence has influenced the trajectory of MFTA's programming and future," shared MFTA Executive Director Tara Sansone. "From our first conversation on the warehouse floor during shopping to now opening an exhibition at MFTA, Daveed has shared his passions and aspirations, for himself and his peers in NYC’s creative community. His residency has served as the catalyst for our Young Designers program, as well as our newly constructed space dedicated to our Designer programs. There's a lack of opportunities —exposure, financial, mentorship— for young designers in the city, and Daveed has inspired us to think bigger and better for our NYC community."

“I felt like a big kid here, and this place was my playground,” shared MFTA Designer-in-Residence Daveed Baptiste. “This residence is a designer’s dream, a dreamland of endless materials with limitless possibilities.”

Participating in the third cohort of MFTA’s Designer-in-Residence program, Baptiste is the first designer whose work will be featured in the MFTA Gallery as a solo exhibition. During his residency, Baptiste had access to free studio space in MFTA’s 35,000-square-foot warehouse as well as endless supplies of donated materials that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. And now, for his sophomore solo exhibition, Baptiste has sourced both materials and inspiration from MFTA’s expansive warehouse. Each garment featured in the exhibition depicts stories twofold — both the designer’s intentions as well as the second-hand materials themselves.

As a part of the MFTA residency programs, and as a commitment to sustainability, artists traditionally source most materials for their exhibition from the Materials for the Arts warehouse — that includes necessary materials to showcase the artwork, such as vitrines or pedestals. Similarly, Baptiste has sourced several mannequins to aid in the visual artistry of his work thanks to the generosity of DK Display, a showroom for mannequins, bust forms and other fashion display items from upscale global manufacturers.

Launched in 2023, MFTA’s Designer-in-Residence program provides designers with free studio space and access to endless supplies at MFTA’s 35,000-square-foot warehouse. This new program joins MFTA’s long-running Artist-in-Residence program as one of the ways that MFTA supports, fosters, and provides a platform for creators working at the intersection of art and reuse.

Earlier this month, MFTA cut the ribbon on a newly renovated 4,000-square-foot space dedicated to supporting the MFTA Designer-in-Residence, Young Designers, and Repair programs. In alignment with MFTA’s mission, the renowned firm CO Adaptive designed and built the new studio space in MFTA’s warehouse made entirely from reused, donated, and salvaged materials, sourced mostly from MFTA’s 35,000-square-foot sustainability warehouse. For the first time, the new studio space unifies all of MFTA’s pioneering residency programs in one place. 

MFTA will celebrate the opening of “Soaring High” with a public opening event on Thursday, June 12, 2025 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The event will include live mixing with DJ Donis, an interactive photobooth with Bre’ann White, drinks sponsored by Ten to One Rum, and exclusive access to the designer.

“Soaring High” is on view at Materials for the Arts through August 1, 2025. The MFTA Gallery, located in the MFTA warehouse at 33-00 Northern Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens welcomes visitors Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Admission to this exhibition is free and open to the public. 

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About Daveed Baptiste

Daveed Baptiste is an interdisciplinary designer and artist whose work incorporates fashion design, textile design, and photography. He draws inspiration from his migration from Port au-Prince, Haiti to Miami, Florida. Through projects like “Haiti to Hood” and “Ti Maché,” Baptiste explores themes of migration and cultural preservation within the Haitian community and the larger Caribbean diaspora, reclaiming African diasporic futures and narratives.

In 2022, Baptiste was awarded a year-long apprenticeship with Converse, co-designing the Black Joy Collection and new designs for the Energy basketball team. He has exhibited at New York University, the Aperture Foundation, and debuted his solo exhibition “Ti Maché” in 2023 at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA), marking the release of his first fashion collection.
 

About Materials for the Arts (MFTA)

A program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, with support from the Department of Education and Friends of Materials for the Arts, MFTA is NYC’s largest reuse center supporting nonprofits with arts programming, public schools, and City agencies. MFTA collects millions of pounds of supplies each year which it provides, free of charge, to its member organizations. In addition to providing materials, MFTA has an Artist-in-Residence program and holds public events every third Thursday of the month which include gallery openings and community workshops. Learn more at www.nyc.gov/mfta.