Postcard Cathy (talk | contribs) removed Category:Boston University alumni using HotCat. Not mentioned in article |
InternetArchiveBot (talk | contribs) Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5 |
||
(17 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|American mixed-media artist}} |
|||
{{close paraphrasing|date=April 2017}} |
|||
{{notability|date=April 2017}} |
|||
{{Infobox artist |
{{Infobox artist |
||
| name = Ekua Holmes |
| name = Ekua Holmes |
||
| image = |
| image = |
||
| caption = |
| caption = |
||
| birth_name = |
| birth_name = |
||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1955|07|6}} |
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1955|07|6}} |
||
| birth_place = [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]] |
| birth_place = [[Roxbury, Massachusetts]] |
||
| death_date = |
| death_date = |
||
| death_place = |
| death_place = |
||
| nationality = |
| nationality = |
||
| movement = |
|||
⚫ | |||
| |
| awards = |
||
| |
| patrons = |
||
| |
| field = |
||
| |
| training = |
||
| |
| works = |
||
| |
| influenced by = |
||
| influenced |
| influenced = |
||
⚫ | |||
| influenced = |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
'''Ekua Holmes''' (born in 1955) is |
'''Ekua Holmes''' (born in 1955) is an American [[Mixed media|mixed-media]] artist, children's [[Book illustration|book illustrator]], and arts organization professional. Holmes' primary method of art making is mixed media [[collage]], by layering newspaper, photos, fabric, and other materials to create colorful compositions. Many of these works evoke her childhood in Roxbury's Washington Park neighborhood in [[Boston, MA]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2015/01/19/roxbury-artist-creates-google-doodle-for-mlk-day/pNins9NPSkP9q1xwk2pPeK/story.html |title = Roxbury artist creates Google Doodle for MLK Day |work = BostonGlobe.com |publisher = The Boston Globe |last = Matchan |first = Linda |date = January 19, 2015 |access-date = May 28, 2019 |archive-date = January 31, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210131183657/https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2015/01/19/roxbury-artist-creates-google-doodle-for-mlk-day/pNins9NPSkP9q1xwk2pPeK/story.html |url-status = live }}</ref> |
||
== Early life and education == |
|||
==Education== |
|||
Holmes |
Ekua Holmes was born in [[Roxbury, Boston|Roxbury, Massachusetts]] in 1955. |
||
Holmes holds a BFA in Photography from the [[Massachusetts College of Art and Design]].<ref name=":0" /> |
|||
== Career == |
|||
⚫ | |||
== Fine art career == |
|||
Holmes has exhibited at the Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA, the Hess Gallery of Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, and Harvard Medical School's Transit Gallery.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://newton.wickedlocal.com/x1594959472/At-the-Library|title=At the Library|work=Newton TAB|access-date=2017-04-21|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://baystatebanner.com/news/2016/apr/21/ekua-holmes-deeply-rooted-display/ |title=Ekua Holmes’ ‘Deeply Rooted’ |first = Colette |last = Greenstein |date = April 21, 2016 |publisher = The Bay State Banner |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref> Her work is in the public collections of the Museum of the [[National Center of Afro-American Artists]], [[Boston Medical Center]], [[Boston Arts Academy]], [[Dana–Farber Cancer Institute|Dana Farber Cancer Center]] and the [[Boston Children's Hospital]]. |
|||
As a young artist, Holmes discovered the power of [[found object]]s, which derive their identity as art from places as well as the social histories attached to the objects. She uses found newspapers, magazines, old stamps, and so on.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ekua Holmes' Vivid Collages Capture Spirit And Community At The MFA|url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/02/ekua-holmes-exhibition-mfa-collages|access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.wbur.org|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806070205/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/08/02/ekua-holmes-exhibition-mfa-collages|url-status=live}}</ref> She often creates patterns using these materials. Childhood, family bonds, memory, and resilience are frequent themes in her work. Many of Holmes's collages are reminiscent of works by African and African American artists such as the late [[Romare Bearden]], [[Jacob Lawrence]], and [[Njideka Akunyili Crosby|Njideka Akunyili]].<ref name=":1" /> Like these artists, her works reflect a commitment to Black imagery and representation. |
|||
⚫ | About her work, Holmes said, <blockquote>“In everything I create I hear them saying, ‘Remember Me,’ and through my work I honor their legacies by bringing them forward to life with torn and cut shapes of found colors and textures. With these scraps and remnants, assembled like a down-home quilt, I rebuild my world, putting in what speaks to my personal and cultural narrative.”<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Perrée|first=Rob|date=2015-01-19|title=Ekua Holmes|language=en-US|work=AFRICANAH.ORG|url=http://africanah.org/ekua-holmes/|url-status=live|access-date=2017-04-21|archive-date=2017-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422122848/http://africanah.org/ekua-holmes/}}</ref></blockquote> |
||
⚫ | Holmes was the recipient of a 2013 Brother Thomas Fellowship from [[The Boston Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web| |
||
=== Google Doodle === |
|||
On [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] in 2015, Holmes's [[Google Doodle]] illustration honoring the civil rights leader was the featured image on Google's U.S. homepage. The collage depicts King walking arm in arm with fellow activists in [[Selma, Alabama]].<ref name=":0" /> |
On [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] in 2015, Holmes's [[Google Doodle]] illustration honoring the civil rights leader was the featured image on Google's U.S. homepage. The collage depicts King walking arm in arm with fellow activists in [[Selma, Alabama]].<ref name=":0" /> |
||
=== Arts organizations === |
|||
⚫ | Holmes' "[https://www.northeastern.edu/art/ekua-holmes/ Crosswalks and Bus Stops]" was installed at Northeastern University, in oversize glass windows that faced onto Parker Street and Huntington Avenue. The work was part of Northeastern's [https://www.northeastern.edu/art/category/public-art/ Public Art Initiative], a platform for artists from the local community and the world. |
||
Holmes founded The Great Black Art Collection, an organization dedicated to both giving a platform to emerging artists and to introducing Black art to previously unreached audiences.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=About Ekua Holmes — Ekua Holmes|url=http://www.ekuaholmes.com/about|access-date=2020-07-18|website=Ekua Holmes|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718223753/http://www.ekuaholmes.com/about|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
Holmes is currently Vice-Chair of the [[Boston Art Commission|Boston Arts Commission]].<ref>{{citation|title=Ekua Holmes - Vice-Chair, Boston Arts Commission|url=https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/boston-art-commission/ekua-holmes|website=boston.gov|publisher=City of Boston|access-date=May 28, 2019|archive-date=May 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529002629/https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/boston-art-commission/ekua-holmes|url-status=live}}</ref> Holmes is also currently working in [[Boston]] as an assistant director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MassArt. There, she manages sparc! the ArtMobile.<ref name=":2" /> |
|||
==Illustration career== |
|||
Holmes has illustrated several [[Children's literature|children's picture books]], garnering awards for several. |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
== Exhibitions and collections == |
|||
A selection of works from her award-winning children’s book illustrations is on view at the MFA Boston as part of a 2021 solo exhibition titled, "[https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/paper-stories-layered-dreams?promo=33387&gclid=CjwKCAjwmK6IBhBqEiwAocMc8t2w9ZnKLI2KOexA4WKXyC5zxWiB1TYlyExBCSctcyATsXf731oNRBoCy8UQAvD_BwE Paper Stories, Layered Dreams The Art of Ekua Holmes"]. These works consist of collages and original illustrations from Holmes’s published book projects. |
|||
Holmes' first exhibition was in 2000, at "Renewal and Regeneration" at Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA.<ref name=":2" /> |
|||
She has also exhibited at Hess Gallery of [[Pine Manor College]], Chestnut Hill, MA, and Harvard Medical School's Transit Gallery.<ref>{{Cite news|title=At the Library|language=en|work=Newton TAB|url=http://newton.wickedlocal.com/x1594959472/At-the-Library|access-date=2017-04-21|archive-date=2017-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422142246/http://newton.wickedlocal.com/x1594959472/At-the-Library|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Greenstein|first=Colette|date=April 21, 2016|title=Ekua Holmes' 'Deeply Rooted'|publisher=The Bay State Banner|url=http://baystatebanner.com/news/2016/apr/21/ekua-holmes-deeply-rooted-display/|access-date=May 28, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922165652/http://baystatebanner.com/news/2016/apr/21/ekua-holmes-deeply-rooted-display/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
Her work is in the public collections of the Museum of the [[National Center of Afro-American Artists]], [[Boston Medical Center]], [[Boston Arts Academy]], [[Dana–Farber Cancer Institute|Dana Farber Cancer Center]] and the [[Boston Children's Hospital]]. |
|||
⚫ | Holmes' "[https://www.northeastern.edu/art/ekua-holmes/ Crosswalks and Bus Stops] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223091658/https://www.northeastern.edu/art/ekua-holmes/ |date=2017-02-23 }}" was installed at Northeastern University, in oversize glass windows that faced onto Parker Street and Huntington Avenue. The work was part of Northeastern's [https://www.northeastern.edu/art/category/public-art/ Public Art Initiative] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122195510/https://www.northeastern.edu/art/category/public-art/ |date=2019-01-22 }}, a platform for artists from the local community and the world. |
||
Holmes is currently Vice-Chair of the Boston Arts Commission.<ref>{{citation |title = Ekua Holmes - Vice-Chair, Boston Arts Commission |access-date = May 28, 2019 |publisher = City of Boston |website = boston.gov |url = https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/boston-art-commission/ekua-holmes }}</ref> |
|||
== Awards == |
|||
In 2013, Holmes was awarded the [[NAACP Image Awards|NAACP Image Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ekua Holmes {{!}} R. MICHELSON GALLERIES|url=https://www.rmichelson.com/illustration/ekua-holmes/|access-date=2020-07-18|website=www.rmichelson.com|archive-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718224225/https://www.rmichelson.com/illustration/ekua-holmes/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | ''Voice of Freedom'' won a [[Caldecott Medal|Caldecott Honor]], a [[Sibert Medal|Robert F. Sibert Honor]], [http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/johnsteptoe John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award], and a [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award|Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor]].<ref>{{Cite news |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/12/14/ekua-holmes-the-illustrator-who-makes-art-overcoming-barriers/P5d9QLHVXZ3bGno7EGwciO/story.html |title = Ekua Holmes: The illustrator who makes an art of overcoming barriers |publisher = The Boston Globe |work = BostonGlobe.com |access-date = May 28, 2019 |date = December 14, 2016 |last = Gay |first = Malcolm |archive-date = April 19, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190419031846/https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/12/14/ekua-holmes-the-illustrator-who-makes-art-overcoming-barriers/P5d9QLHVXZ3bGno7EGwciO/story.html |url-status = live }}</ref> |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | Holmes was awarded the 2018 [[Coretta Scott King Award|Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award]] for ''Out of Wonder'' and the 2019 award for ''[[The Stuff of Stars]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present|title=Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present|last=JAMUNDSEN|date=2012-04-05|website=Round Tables|language=en|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716105759/http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/coretta-scott-king-book-awards-all-recipients-1970-present|url-status=live}}</ref> |
||
⚫ | ''Voice of Freedom'' won a [[Caldecott Medal|Caldecott Honor]], a [[Sibert Medal|Robert F. Sibert Honor]], [http://www.ala.org/rt/emiert/cskbookawards/johnsteptoe John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award], and a [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award|Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/12/14/ekua-holmes-the-illustrator-who-makes-art-overcoming-barriers/P5d9QLHVXZ3bGno7EGwciO/story.html |title=Ekua Holmes: The illustrator who makes an art of overcoming barriers |publisher = The Boston Globe |work=BostonGlobe.com |access-date = May 28, 2019 |date = December 14, 2016 |last = Gay |first = Malcolm }}</ref> |
||
⚫ | Holmes was the recipient of a 2013 Brother Thomas Fellowship from [[The Boston Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brother Thomas Fund + Fellowship Program|url=https://www.tbf.org/what-we-do/special-funds/br-thomas-fund|access-date=May 28, 2019|publisher=The Boston Foundation|archive-date=May 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529002617/https://www.tbf.org/what-we-do/special-funds/br-thomas-fund|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 2013, Holmes was named to the [[Boston Art Commission]], which oversees public art projects on city property. In 2015, she installed a community-based work for an opening at the [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston|Institute of Contemporary Art Boston]], which consisted of a gigantic interactive collage with scenes of Boston in transition, designed to complement the ICA group show, “When the Stars Begin to Fall.”<ref name=":0" /> |
||
⚫ | Holmes was awarded the 2018 [[Coretta Scott King Award|Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award]] for ''Out of Wonder'' and the 2019 award |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist|2}} |
||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
{{wikiquote}} |
|||
*[http://www.ekuaholmes.com/ Official website] |
*[http://www.ekuaholmes.com/ Official website] |
||
Line 68: | Line 85: | ||
[[Category:Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni]] |
[[Category:Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni]] |
||
[[Category:African-American artists]] |
[[Category:African-American artists]] |
||
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]] |
|||
[[Category:Artists from Massachusetts]] |
|||
[[Category:Caldecott Honor winners]] |
Latest revision as of 05:33, 29 February 2024
Ekua Holmes | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Massachusetts College of Art and Design (BFA) |
Ekua Holmes (born in 1955) is an American mixed-media artist, children's book illustrator, and arts organization professional. Holmes' primary method of art making is mixed media collage, by layering newspaper, photos, fabric, and other materials to create colorful compositions. Many of these works evoke her childhood in Roxbury's Washington Park neighborhood in Boston, MA.[1]
Early life and education
Ekua Holmes was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1955.
Holmes holds a BFA in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.[1]
Fine art career
As a young artist, Holmes discovered the power of found objects, which derive their identity as art from places as well as the social histories attached to the objects. She uses found newspapers, magazines, old stamps, and so on.[2] She often creates patterns using these materials. Childhood, family bonds, memory, and resilience are frequent themes in her work. Many of Holmes's collages are reminiscent of works by African and African American artists such as the late Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Njideka Akunyili.[3] Like these artists, her works reflect a commitment to Black imagery and representation.
About her work, Holmes said,
“In everything I create I hear them saying, ‘Remember Me,’ and through my work I honor their legacies by bringing them forward to life with torn and cut shapes of found colors and textures. With these scraps and remnants, assembled like a down-home quilt, I rebuild my world, putting in what speaks to my personal and cultural narrative.”[3]
Google Doodle
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2015, Holmes's Google Doodle illustration honoring the civil rights leader was the featured image on Google's U.S. homepage. The collage depicts King walking arm in arm with fellow activists in Selma, Alabama.[1]
Arts organizations
Holmes founded The Great Black Art Collection, an organization dedicated to both giving a platform to emerging artists and to introducing Black art to previously unreached audiences.[4]
Holmes is currently Vice-Chair of the Boston Arts Commission.[5] Holmes is also currently working in Boston as an assistant director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MassArt. There, she manages sparc! the ArtMobile.[4]
Illustration career
Holmes has illustrated several children's picture books, garnering awards for several.
- Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Candlewick Press, 2015)
- Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth (Candlewick Press, 2017)
- The Stuff of Stars, by Marion Dane Bauer (Candlewick Press, 2018)
- What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, by Chris Barton (Beach Lane Books, 2018)
- Black Is a Rainbow Color, by Angela Joy (Roaring Brook Press, 2020)
Exhibitions and collections
A selection of works from her award-winning children’s book illustrations is on view at the MFA Boston as part of a 2021 solo exhibition titled, "Paper Stories, Layered Dreams The Art of Ekua Holmes". These works consist of collages and original illustrations from Holmes’s published book projects.
Holmes' first exhibition was in 2000, at "Renewal and Regeneration" at Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA.[4]
She has also exhibited at Hess Gallery of Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, and Harvard Medical School's Transit Gallery.[6][7]
Her work is in the public collections of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston Medical Center, Boston Arts Academy, Dana Farber Cancer Center and the Boston Children's Hospital.
Holmes' "Crosswalks and Bus Stops Archived 2017-02-23 at the Wayback Machine" was installed at Northeastern University, in oversize glass windows that faced onto Parker Street and Huntington Avenue. The work was part of Northeastern's Public Art Initiative Archived 2019-01-22 at the Wayback Machine, a platform for artists from the local community and the world.
Awards
In 2013, Holmes was awarded the NAACP Image Award.[8]
Voice of Freedom won a Caldecott Honor, a Robert F. Sibert Honor, John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor.[9]
Holmes was awarded the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Out of Wonder and the 2019 award for The Stuff of Stars.[10]
Holmes was the recipient of a 2013 Brother Thomas Fellowship from The Boston Foundation.[11] Also in 2013, Holmes was named to the Boston Art Commission, which oversees public art projects on city property. In 2015, she installed a community-based work for an opening at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, which consisted of a gigantic interactive collage with scenes of Boston in transition, designed to complement the ICA group show, “When the Stars Begin to Fall.”[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Matchan, Linda (January 19, 2015). "Roxbury artist creates Google Doodle for MLK Day". BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Ekua Holmes' Vivid Collages Capture Spirit And Community At The MFA". www.wbur.org. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ a b Perrée, Rob (2015-01-19). "Ekua Holmes". AFRICANAH.ORG. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
- ^ a b c "About Ekua Holmes — Ekua Holmes". Ekua Holmes. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- ^ "Ekua Holmes - Vice-Chair, Boston Arts Commission", boston.gov, City of Boston, archived from the original on May 29, 2019, retrieved May 28, 2019
- ^ "At the Library". Newton TAB. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
- ^ Greenstein, Colette (April 21, 2016). "Ekua Holmes' 'Deeply Rooted'". The Bay State Banner. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Ekua Holmes | R. MICHELSON GALLERIES". www.rmichelson.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- ^ Gay, Malcolm (December 14, 2016). "Ekua Holmes: The illustrator who makes an art of overcoming barriers". BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ JAMUNDSEN (2012-04-05). "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present". Round Tables. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "Brother Thomas Fund + Fellowship Program". The Boston Foundation. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.