We are thrilled to share, Ekua Holmes, renowned mixed media artist and children’s book illustrator, MassArt alumnus, and Associate Director at the Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP), has created original artwork for a Kwanzaa stamp that will be sold nationwide by the United States Postal Service^® starting September 25, 2024. The stylized stamp design was inspired by a live performance at the OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center Holmes attended in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and depicts a male drummer and two female dancers. Kwanzaa , a Pan-African holiday celebrated from December 26 to January 1 each year, brings family, community, and culture together for many African Americans.

This is not the first time Holmes’ artwork has been featured on the national stage. An exhibition of her art, titled “Paper Stories, Layered Dreams,” was held at the Museum of Fine Arts from July 17, 2021 through Jan. 24, 2022. In 2018 and 2019, she won the coveted Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration for the books, “Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets.” and “Stuff of Stars.” She is the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King’s John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, Robert Siebert and Horn Book awards for her illustrations in “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement”. 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. Additionally, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2015, her Google Doodle illustration honoring the civil rights leader was the featured image on Google’s U.S. homepage.

Holmes previously served as Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Boston Art Commission, which oversees the placement and maintenance of public works of art on and in City of Boston properties. She also founded The Great Black Art Collection, an organization dedicated to both giving a platform to emerging artists and to introducing Black art to previously unreached audiences.

Holmes received her BFA in Photography from MassArt in 1977.

In her role with CACP at MassArt, Holmes is the director of sparc! the ArtMobile, a retrofitted van fully equipped with art supplies that brings intergenerational art and design experiences to the community – all free of charge.  sparc! collaborates with community-based organizations, schools, artists, and businesses to share resources and nurture community relationships with an excellent student team. sparc!’s visibility, accessibility, and mobility make it a popular part of community events and a vibrant resource.