For Semeion Richardson, art has never been just about paint on canvas. It has always been about purpose.

Now, that purpose is taking her from downtown Leesburg to one of the most prestigious platforms in the art world. 

Photography by Angelina Cooper

Semeion, a celebrated local Black artist and founder of Artist With A Purpose, has been invited to showcase her work at the Harlem Fine Arts Show in New York, Feb. 21–23, a global exhibition widely recognized as the largest traveling African Diasporic art show in the United States.

The invitation marks another milestone Semeion, who has already made history locally. She is widely recognized for launching the first Black woman-owned art studio in Lake County, creating a cultural and creative space that has uplifted artists across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.

Semeion says the moment feels both surreal and deeply affirming.

“I’m just now tapping on the iceberg,” she says. “From 2012 to 2026, it’s been a great, great journey. So much still more to come.”

Semeion’s story began in 2012, when she launched Artist With A Purpose as a mobile art studio, bringing creative expression directly into communities throughout Central Florida.

“I always tell how I started bringing art to the community like in the Carver Heights area, outdoor Mount Dora, Montclair area, in different places in Leesburg,” she says. “It was definitely a gift to be able to do that, but I didn’t realize how fast it would grow.”

That growth eventually led to the opening of her physical studio during the pandemic, another moment she considers both unexpected and historic.

“My studio is the first Black art studio in the Tri-County area,” she says. “There are not a lot of Black-owned art studios, which gives us an opportunity to bring diversity and minority arts and just give awareness to Black artists.”

Semeion says her work has always been based in connection, blending art, leadership and healing. Her background as a suicide crisis counselor for eight years helped shape her mission to use creativity as a therapeutic outlet.

“Art just gives that icebreaker conversation without bringing so much judgment because it’s just an expression of what someone feels,” she says. “My goal was just to focus on the purpose and what needs to change and what we could do better, like how we can build leadership toward community and build that bridge from art to leadership and art to community.”

Photography by Angelina Cooper

That purpose-driven approach is part of what led organizers of the Harlem Fine Arts Show to discover her work.

“I got that call from the Harlem Fine Arts Show saying that’s how they found me; being that my was the first to be opened here,” she says. “I was really nervous because I was like ‘what?, like how did I get this call.’ Which is  really awesome and I’m very grateful for it.’”

Founded in 2009 and inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, the Harlem Fine Arts Show has welcomed more than 80,000 visitors and showcased artists from across the African Diaspora. The exhibition provides artists opportunities for global recognition, professional advancement and economic empowerment while connecting collectors, galleries and cultural leaders worldwide.

Semeion will present her work under her artistic identity, Paradise Flower, a name deeply tied to personal meaning and family inspiration.

“Paradise Flower is basically a flower that my mom liked,” she says. “I think of it as like my hands from heaven to earth kind of thing, like everything I touch just turns into paradise.”

Her participation will also highlight collaboration. Semeion is showcasing fellow artists Belina Wright and Dafeney Josue, while photographer Angelina Cooper and makeup artist Tiffany Woodburn will contribute their artistry to the collective presentation. All participating creatives are Black women, a deliberate and meaningful choice.

“What I did was just promote all Black women artists,” she says. “Photography, makeup, it’s still art. We are all artists.”

Semeion says the Harlem showcase represents far more than personal success. She sees it as a moment of visibility for her hometown and for underrepresented artists throughout Central Florida.

“It just gives open doors for Lake County in general,” she says. “It kind of puts us on a different map through the arts because this is global; international.”

The opportunity has also reinforced her guiding philosophy.

“My purpose is greater than my challenges,” she says. “I started from 2012 as a mobile artist, then the studio and now the Harlem Fine Arts Show. I feel like a seed was planted and we’ve been watering it and now we get to see the harvest.”

Richardson hopes her journey encourages others to embrace creativity not only as expression, but as empowerment.

As Richardson prepares to bring her work to New York, she carries with her the community that helped shape her and her belief that art can change lives.

“There’s a story to every story where we paint,” she says. “It’s just keeps pushing the history and legacy to the next generation.”