A lifelong resident of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, Ekua Holmes (b. 1955) is an artist and community activist whose body of work explores themes of childhood, family bonds, memory, and resilience. This exhibition focuses on her award-winning children’s book illustrations—vibrant collages revealing stories of self-determination, love, and community that reflect the artist’s distinctive vision and commitment to Black imagery.

Between May and September, artists and activists Ekua Holmes (African American, b. 1955) and Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag, b. 1973) will create a “Garden for Boston” outside the MFA’s main entrance. The two installations that comprise this exhibition, in dialogue with each other and the surrounding space, reshape the grounds around Cyrus Dallin’s monumental bronze sculpture Appeal to the Great Spirit (1909) with sunflowers and corn—ephemeral plants that are nonetheless part of the endless cycles of nature and long histories of New England land.

Ekua Holmes’ collages will be on exhibit at Cousen Rose Gallery starting on Saturday, August 17, from 7 to 9 pm. Her books, “The Stuff of Stars” and “Out of Wonder,” will also be available.