Kim B Miller | Speak Your Truth

We believe art has the power to transcend boundaries, to elevate diverse voices, artistic expressions, and opportunities for active engagement accessible to all. We continuously celebrate the creativity of our diverse population in the DMV region.

Speak Your Truth | Black Lives Matter, attempts to represent the depth and diversity of the DC/MD/VA region and its reflections on the activities associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Works were selected from responses to an open call for submissions on the basis of poetry/spoken word and artistic merit/visual communication.

KaNikki Jakarta, Poet Laureate of Alexandria determined which entries were accepted based on poetry/spoken word. Victor Ekpuk, artist and Twig Murray, Athenaeum Gallery Director, evaluated the entries based on artistic merit and visual communication.

Double click the image area to the right to see each work in the show and to get details.

Zita Holbourne

Progression

Zita Holbourne is an award winning human rights campaigner, trade union and community activist and multi disciplinary artist - visual artist, curator, poet, writer, vocalist and author.

Zita is part of the UNESCO Coalition of Artists for the General History of Africa. She is the founder and curator of the Roots Culture Identity art exhibition and collective which was established in memory of Stephen Lawrence, a young black British man who was murdered by racists in the UK and seeks to provide a platform for predominantly young black artists.

Zita is the author of the book Striving for Equality Freedom and Justice, published by Hansib, a book that fuses the poetical with the political and documents black history and struggles from the Haitian Revolution to Black Lives Matter through poetry and is also illustrated by Zita.

Zita campaigns for equality, freedom, justice and rights through arts and activism.

Progression is Zita's signature poem, reflecting on the discrimination faced by black women and is included in Zita's book . The video of Zita performing Progression was filmed in London, UK.

Gene Provenzo

Black Lives Matter: An Historical/Photographic Study