Grantee Spotlight: Imar Hutchins

Imar Hutchins, an FY21 Artist Fellowship grantee and resident artist at Pyramid Atlantic, presented a print of his compelling new 16 Limited edition, 16-color serigraph of Frederick Douglass entitled What, to the American Slave, is your Fourth of July?.

According to Hutchins, “The title is a quote from a famous speech Douglass gave once on the Fourth of July thus I’ve depicted him as red, white and blue. Another line that always stands out for me in that speech is: “It is not light we need, but fire!” A feeling that worked its way into the various reds in this piece. This print is not just an homage to Douglass but also a subtle tribute to John Johnson, the founder of Ebony Magazine.

A special issue of Ebony, September 1963, which marked the Centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, inspired the series. “The red rectangle represents the Ebony logo and Johnson. The shapes inside of it represent the North Star,” Hutchins explained. “The literal North Star led Frederick to freedom, but it was also the name of his publication. The North Star, the publication, was in turn the progenitor of the Black Press, of which Ebony is a key descendant.” With Juneteenth this month, we are proud to present the works of a grantee focusing on our nation’s history!

Please be sure to follow him on Instagram @imarhutchins and his linktree!