Curriculum Vitae
EKUA HOLMES
72 Munroe Street, Boston, MA 02119 USA
P: 617 / 780-9765 | E: ekuaholmes@gmail.com | W: www.ekuaholmes.com
PROFILE / EDUCATION
Born: Roxbury, Massachusetts
MFA Coursework, Maryland Institute College of Art/ Mount Royal School of Interdisciplinary Arts BFA, Massachusetts College of Art
INVITATION and GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 “Our Voice: Celebrating the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards”, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA (traveling)
2018 “Nine Moments for Now,” The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art , Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2018 “Telling a People’s Story: African-American Children’s Illustrated Literature,” Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, Ohio
2017-Present “Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement through Children’s Books, High Museum, Atlanta, GA, Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA (traveling)
2017 “Legacy of the Cool: A Tribute to Barkley L. Hendricks,” Bakalar and Paine Galleries, MassArt, Boston, MA
2017 “360,” Nesto Gallery, Milton, MA
2016 “Transformed,” Scollay Square Gallery, City Hall, Boston, MA
2015 “Dorchester Way,” Medicine Wheel Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 Co-curator, "Violence Transformed," Student/Alumni Show, Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Roxbury, MA
2014 “Alumni Award Exhibition,” Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA 2014 “Collage Invitational,” Cousen Rose Gallery-Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, MA 2014 "A Story We Share," Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, Boston, MA 2014 "Black Jazz," Gallery at Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, MA
2012 "Afrocentric," Gallery Z, Providence, RI
2012 "Egyptian Moments, Roxbury Connections," American Islamic Congress, Boston, MA 2012 "Black by Popular Demand," Gallery 360, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2011 "Children=Hope," Museum of the National Center for Afro American Artists, Boston, MA 2011 "Impressions," Gallery at the Piano Factory, Boston, MA
2010 "Peers and Pathways: A Photographic Redux," Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA (Co-curator)
2010 "Keeping Rhythm," Rivier College, Nashua, NH
2008 “Women of the Cloth,” Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, MA
2008 “Parallel Journeys,” with Paul Goodnight, Newbury College, Chestnut Hill, MA(Curator ) 2008 “Common Ground,” Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, MA
2007 “Something Borrowed, Something New,” with Kim Nielssen, Gallery at the Piano Factory, Boston, MA (Curator)
2007 “Capturing Roxbury” Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA 2007 “Hair Stories,” Worcester Public Library, Worcester, MA
2007 “SEEDS: Contemporary Works by Boston Women Artists, Gallery at the Piano Factory, Boston, MA (curator)
2006 “Jamaica, Jamaica,” L’Essence Art Gallery, West Roxbury, MA
2005 “My Mother’s Daughter,” Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery, Charlestown, MA 2005 “Boston Artists/South End Artists,” The Gallery @ The Piano Factory, Boston, MA 2005 “Fourty X Fourty, The Stuart Street Playhouse, Boston, MA
2004 “Epiphany V: Our Vision of the World” The Gallery @ The Piano Factory, Boston, MA (curator) 1
2004 “Roxbury Open Studios”, ACT Roxbury Consortium, Boston, MA
2004 “South End Open Studios” United South End Artists, Boston, MA
2004 "North Wing Eclectic" The Gallery @ The Piano Factory, Boston, MA
2004 "First Annual Alumni Show" Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
2003 “The Emergence of Identity” New England Women of Color Artists, Providence, RI 2003 "Epiphany IV: Spirit Song" Davis Education Galleries, Boston, MA (curator) 2003 “Women of Color Speak” Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (curator)
2003 "The Gift of Art" The Gallery @ the Piano Factory, Boston, MA (curator)
2003 "Influence & Inspiration" Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA (curator) 2002 "Collage Artists" All About Art Gallery, Roslindale, MA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 “Stars and Stripes,” Cousen Rose Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, MA
2019 “Flowers,” Cousen Rose Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, MA
2017 “incognito,” Cousen Rose Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, MA
2017 "The Art of Ekua Holmes," Trustman Gallery, Simmons College, Boston, MA 2016 “Ancient Seas, Ancient Sands,” Cousen Rose Gallery, Martha's Vineyard, MA 2016 Deeply Rooted, Joan Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Roxbury, MA 2015 Gallery 53, Rocky Neck Art Association, Gloucester, MA
2012 "Colored Memory: Primary Narratives", Nesto Gallery, Milton, MA
2012 "Ekua Holmes" South Rotunda Gallery, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA 2012 "Here and There" JP Licks, Jamaica Plain, MA
2011 "Pieces of a Dream," Gallery at Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, MA 2010 "Mixed Messages: From the City to the Sea," Newton Free Library, Chestnut Hill, MA 2009 "Full Circle," Gallery at United South End Settlements, Boston, MA
2008-09 “Kindred,” Sandra and Philip Gordon Gallery, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA 2004 “Second Childhood,” Hess Gallery at Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA
SPECIAL PROJECTS
2018-Present-The Roxbury Sunflower Project, Positioning the sunflower as a symbolic representation of modern Roxbury, its people and history. Distributing 10,000 free sunflower seeds to beautify and inspire a neighborhood. (Annual events and collaborations)
COMMISSIONS/COLLECTIONS
2020-21 Horizons, Horizons for Homeless Children, Original Art, Boston, MA
2018 Commission, Bank of Boston, Dudley Branch, The Key, Mural
2018 “Planting a Future: Roxbury Sunflower Project,” Freedom House, Roxbury, MA, digital mural 2017 "Up North," acquired by the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
2016 "May We Forever Stand," Washington Post, Celebrating the opening of the Museum of African American History and Culture
2016 “Crosswalks and Bus Stops,” digital mural, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2015 Google Doodle, MLK, Jr. Birthday Observance
2015 "Voice of Freedom: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer," Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, Illustrations 2012 East Boston Health Center, East Boston, MA
2010 Dana Farber Cancer Center, Art Collection, Boston, MA
2009-10 First Night Button Artist, "Free to Be," Boston, MA
2009 Boston Foundation, Annual Report, featured cover artist, Boston, MA
2009 “Home Girls” and “The Girl Next Door”, for the Kent House at Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 2008 “Ties That Bind,” Gustavus Myers Center, Simmons College, Boston, MA
2007 “The Teacher,” Collage, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA
2007 “On My Mind,” Festival Poster and Program Cover, Willis Center-Cultural Institute, , Worcester, MA 2005 Illustrations for “Non-Profit Effectiveness, Diversity Matters,” Third Sector New England, Boston, MA 2005 Illustrations, Global Health Initiative, Boston University, Boston, MA
2002 “Faces of MGH” Mural, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
2004 "Goree," acquired by the Museum of the National Center for Afro American Artists
BOOKS
2021 Saving American Beach, Illustrator, Heidi King, Author
2020 Black is a Rainbow Color, Illustrator, Angela Joy, Author
2019 The Stuff of Stars, Illustrator, Marion Bauer, Author
2018 What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Illustrator, Chris Barton, Author
2017 Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, Illustrator, Kwame Alexander, Author 2016 Voice of Freedom Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, Illustrator, Carole Boston Weatherford, Author
VISITING ARTIST / RESIDENCIES / PANELS AND PRESENTATIONS
2021 Panelist, Love, Live, The African American Children’s Book Fair
2021 Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlen Renaissance, A Conversation with Nikki Grimes 2019 Lab Central: MIT, Artist Talk: Art and Healing Strategies, Cambridge, MA
2019 Keynote, MAEA conference, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA
2018 Illustration Institute, Summer Residency, Peaks Island, ME
2018 Speaker, Conference: Telling a People’s Story, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 2017 Teaching Artist, Open Book Foundation, Washington, DC
2017 Teaching for Artistic Behavior, Panel Discussion, Summer Institute, MassArt, Boston, MA 2017 Teaching Artists, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Northampton, MA 2016 Teacher Training Presentation, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
2016 Squam Art Workshops, Teaching Artist, New Hampshire
2015 Squam Art Workshops, Teaching Artist, New Hampshire
2014 Telling Our Story, Presenter, Boston Public Library, Dudley Branch, Boston, MA 2014 Making Greater Boston Greater, Panelist, A 21st Century New Urban Agenda, Greater Boston Cultural Convening, Boston, MA
2013 Art Professionals Breakfast, Panelist, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA 2012 Teaching Artist, Young Achievers Academy, Dorchester, MA
2012 Teaching Artist, Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) 2011 T edX Boston, Presenter, "Community Driven," Boston, MA
2011 Teaching Artist, Creativity Lab at Dorchester Academy, Boston, MA
2010 Goetemann Residency, Fellow, Rocky Neck Art Association
2010 Artists Talk: Influence and Inspiration: From Crayons to Collage, Rivier College, Nashua, NH 2009 Residency and Avery Foundation Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont 2009 Teaching Artist, Project MOVE, “Identity Collages,” Cambridge, MA
2008-’09 Residency, Boston Arts Academy, “Urban Survival” Exhibition class
2008 AISNE Diversity Conference, “The Art of Collage”, Weston, MA
2005 “Windows to the Soul: Is Freedom Visible?” Panelist, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA 2004 Visiting Artist, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA
2003 “Survival Skills for Artists” Panelist, Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Arts & the Media Conference, Cambridge, MA
2003 “Gallery Talk: Influence & Inspiration”, Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA. 2002 “Gallery Talk: Epiphany II: In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” Davis Education Galleries, Boston, MA
2001 A.C.T. Roxbury, Survival Skills for Artists/ Panelist, Boston, MA
SELECTED GRANTS, AWARDS & HONORS
2019 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, Stuff of Stars, Marion Dane Bauer, author 2018 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, Out of Wonder, Kwame Alexander, author 2018 Now+There Accelerator Grant Recipient, Boston, MA
2016 Caldecott Honor, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement 2016 Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustration, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2016 Robert Sibert Award for Informational Book, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2016 Flora Stieglitz Award-Bank Street College, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2015 Silver Medal, The Original Art, Society of Illustrators, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
2014 Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Alumni Award, Boston, MA
2014 Roxbury Puddingstone Award, Discover Roxbury, Boston, MA
2013 Boston Art Commission, Appointed Commissioner, Boston, MA
2013 Fellow, Brother Thomas Award, Boston Foundation, Boston, MA
2013 Boston NAACP, 2013 Image Award, Boston, MA
2010 Fellowes Athenaeum Trust, Award Recipient for "Dreaming Big: Pioneers of Roxbury's Public Art 2009 Nomination, Brother Thomas Award, Boston Foundation, Boston, MA
2009 Avery Foundation Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2004 Entrepreneur Award, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Boston, MA 2000 Afrikan Achievers Award, The Black Community Information Center
SELECTED WORK EXPERIENCE
2013 - Present Vice Chair, Boston Art Commission, Boston, MA
2013 - Present Director, sparc! the ArtMobile, Associate Director, Center for Art and Community Partnerships, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2010 - 2013 Community Coordinator, sparc! the ArtMobile, Center for Art and Community Partnerships Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2008-2017 Tour Guide, Discover Roxbury, Boston, MA
Develop and lead art, cultural and historical tours of Roxbury, MA
1990-2001 Owner/Curator, Renaissance Art & Design Gallery, Boston, MA
1983-1992 Art Director, Department of Public Welfare, Boston, MA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cook, Greg, “What Happens If You Plant 10,000 Sunflowers At The Heart Of Boston’s Black Community?” WONDERLAND, June 12, 2018
Guerra, Cristela, “Planting Hope” Boston Globe, July 14, 2018
Peterson, Kevin “The Vibrant Art of Roxbury's Ekua Holmes Recalls the Harlem Renaissance,” The Artery, WBUR, July 12, 2017
Honorable Mention, Bostonians of the Year 2016, Boston Globe Magazine
Matchan, Linda "Showing her MLK work to millions, Google pickes Roxbury Artists" Boston Globe, January 2015
Williams, Jacquinn "New Initiative fuses jazz and art in Roxbury park." The Bay State Banner. July, 2012 Schappler, Patricia "Boston Artists Celebrating Their Culture," On Any Given Day, February, 2010 Grimm, Ellen "Keeping Rhythm," The Telegraph: Arts and Entertainment, February 2010 Fagan, Sarah Artscope Magazine Spotlight, “Kindred,” January 2009
Holmes, Ekua “Back to the Future”, Artist Spotlight, ME Magazine, July/August 2007 Plummer, D’Lynne “Rest, renewal, reflection and relationships,” South End News, July 7, 2005
Bourne, Kay “Artist showcases work of women of color in “Epiphany 5,” Bay State Banner, Dec. 2, 2004 Hill, Shawn “North Wing Eclectic, North Wing Artists Exhibit at the Piano Factory” Jan. 22, 2004