MLK in Art — Then and Now
Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Day. This week’s newsletter celebrates MLK in art, showcasing the first busts done of him two years after his death, one now sits in the White House, to the groundbreaking new sculpture by @HankWillisThomas unveiled on Friday, that celebrates the beginning of the relationship between him and Coretta Scott in Boston.
And a bit of Chicago history, the bust of MLK in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was a gift from renowned art collectors Eric and Cheryl McKissack of the city, who had purchased it from the N’Namdi Contemporary art gallery. Yea for Black galleries.
Also, congrats to @MarthaWade on the launch of her Generational Empowerment collection at Chicago’s Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago featuring her art. Martha’s father Eda Wade was an amazing artists based in Chicago and Louisiana.
And coming in February to the Chicago Cultural Center is groundbreaking national multimedia exhibition Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited. Expect to see photos of noted philanthropist including Ebony Magazine Founder John H. Johnson who nearly all Black collagists can thank for source material. It’s at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Read the full newsletter here .
