Ekua Holmes

Ekua Holmes is from Roxbury, MA, and a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She works in mixed media, primarily focusing on the collage of found objects like vintage wallpapers, newspapers, painted patterns, and cut-outs.

The recipient of the 2013 NAACP Image Award, Ekua is currently the Vice-Chair of the Boston Arts Commission and  Associate Director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MassArt . Her first picture book, “Voice of Freedom, Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement garnered a Caldecott Honor, a Robert F. Sibert Honor, and the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe award for New Talent. Holmes’ was awarded the  Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award  in 2018 for Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets and in 2019 for The Stuff of Stars. Her other celebrated books include, What Do You Do With a Voice Like That; Saving American Beach; Black is a Rainbow Color, and Hope is an Arrow.  In 2021 Holmes was honored with a one-person exhibition at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Ekua’s work is about community, love, innovation and creativity. R. Michelson Galleries is honored to represent her artwork.