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Ekua Holmes

エクア・ホームズ

Ekua Holmes

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1955-07-06 （Roxbury, Massachusetts）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Roxbury, Massachusetts → Boston, Massachusetts

Career

Occupations
mixed-media artist, children's book illustrator, arts organization professional
Active Years
2000-2024
Affiliations
Boston Art Commission
Memberships
Boston Art Commission (Vice-Chair)
Influenced By
Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Njideka Akunyili Crosby

Education

Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Photography
Degree: BFA
Country: United States

Awards

NAACP Image Award
2013
Organization: NAACP
Result: Winner
Caldecott Honor
2016
Work: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Category: Illustration
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Robert F. Sibert Honor
2016
Work: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award
2016
Work: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Result: Winner
Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor
2016
Work: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Result: Honor
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
2018
Work: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
Category: Illustrator
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
2019
Work: The Stuff of Stars
Category: Illustrator
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner
Brother Thomas Fellowship
2013
Organization: The Boston Foundation
Result: Recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

2015 Children's picture book

Illustrations for the biography picture book of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer.

civil rightsAfrican Americanresilience

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

2017 Children's picture book

Illustrations for poems celebrating poets.

poetrycreativitydiversity

The Stuff of Stars

2018 Children's picture book

Illustrations for a picture book about the origin of the universe.

universecreationwonder

What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan

2018 Children's picture book

Illustrations for the biography of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.

politicsvoicecivil rights

Black Is a Rainbow Color

2020 Children's picture book

Illustrations celebrating the diversity of Black.

Black cultureidentityrainbow

Style & Themes

Literary Style
mixed media collagelayering of newspaper, photos, fabricpattern making
Recurring Motifs
childhoodfamily bondsmemoryresilienceBlack imagery

Legacy

American mixed-media collage artist known for children's book illustrations winning multiple awards, Google Doodle, and promoting Black art.

Archives

  • National Center of Afro-American Artists
  • Boston Medical Center
  • Boston Arts Academy

In Popular Culture

  • Created Google Doodle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2015.

Quotes

  • “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.”
    Source: AFRICANAH.ORG (2015)

Trivia

  • Created Google Doodle honoring Martin Luther King Jr. for MLK Day 2015.
  • Founded The Great Black Art Collection.
  • Vice-Chair of Boston Arts Commission.
  • Assistant director at MassArt's Center for Art and Community Partnerships.