Badon, who attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Harrison County Campus from 2014 to 2016, was recently among 10 artists featured in Nemesis: Remember, an exhibition presented by GLAAD’s Equity in Media and Entertainment Initiative (EMEI) at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York City.
Curated by Damon Epps, the exhibition ran September 29 through October 4, 2026, and featured artists working in painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media and digital storytelling.
“I was part of a cohort of artists put together by GLAAD and Gilead that were tasked with putting together our own show,” Badon said. “We were given a $10,000 stipend and one year to put together a show in New York.”
Badon exhibited two mixed-media pieces inspired by childhood visits to beauty supply stores with his family, exploring the cultural significance of Black hair care and self-presentation.
“Growing up, going to the beauty supply store with my family felt like a chaotic sanctuary,” he said. “My work explores how Black hair care and self-presentation are far more than routine. They are deeply tied to pride, care, cultural identity, and artistic expression.”
Born in McComb, Badon moved with his family to Gulfport when he was in the ninth grade. Although his artistic career has taken him well beyond South Mississippi, he considers the Gulf Coast home.
“Though I wasn’t born in Gulfport, it raised me,” he said. “So much of who I am now stems from here.”
His artistic journey began taking shape in studio classes at MGCCC’s Harrison County Campus, where he discovered a passion for painting and the possibilities of color.
“I fell in love with painting in those classes,” Badon said. “I also discovered my love for color theory. Not to mention I made some lifelong friends there.”
Today, his work combines the discipline and detail of classical realism with contemporary culture, using color, nostalgia and symbolism to explore identity and challenge traditional expectations.
“My art is influenced by Black culture of the past, present, and ideas of the future—of what could be,” he said. “All the things that Black people have been taught to suppress, in order to be digestible for others, are the very things I aim to highlight.”
Based in New Orleans since 2018, Badon remains connected to the Gulf Coast arts community and his alma mater. In February 2023, he presented a solo exhibition, Black Like It Never Left, at MGCCC’s Harrison County Campus and has served as a judge for the college’s annual student art exhibition and competition.
Reflecting on his latest achievement and the opportunity to share it with the community that helped shape him, Badon said, “It really means a lot to share this milestone back home.”
