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About Us
We are using public art and creativity as tools for community development, educational enrichment, and social health awareness while highlighting the cultural history and heritage of Juneteenth and the pursuit of Absolute Equality. The Absolute Equality public art initiative aims to recontextualize Juneteenth as a pivotal moment in the arc of U.S. history while properly telling the story of its genesis, and historical, and contemporary relevance.
Juneteenth commemorates the freedom of more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state of Texas. Juneteenth is now observed as a national holiday annually on June 19, celebrating the emancipation of those enslaved in the United States. Absolute Equality public art initiative will serve as a national platform for highlighting and amplifying the story of Juneteenth and help give voice to the voiceless while remembering and celebrating the contributions of Black freedmen and formerly enslaved people who fought for their freedom and the freedom of others. Absolute equality is about cultivating a culture within society that supports the belief that everyone deserves the freedom to pursue the opportunity to become their very best selves to the benefit of the collective community.
Meet The Creatives
Reginald C. Adams is a public artist, social entrepreneur, and community developer. He is best known for his award-winning public art projects, which are strategically located in some of Houston’s most historic and under-served neighborhoods. Adams fundamentally believes that everyone deserves access and exposure to the arts and strives to engage the public in the design and production of his public art projects.
Over the past 30 years, Reginald has facilitated the design, coordination, and production of over 350 public art projects and sacred spaces across the Houston area and abroad. These projects have been co-created with the involvement of over 50,000 area youth volunteers, 100's of artists and thousands of community stakeholders.
The designs, motifs, and imagery captured in his work are a direct reflection of the communities and public spaces that the work is designed to serve. This expands the style, social context, and technique for the execution of Reginald's work into broad and diverse territory. By placing the public in public art, Reginald works to represent the culture, heritage, history, and social context of communities and shared public spaces. His intention is to transform these environments into cultural and artistic destinations. In 2021, Reginald led a team of artists to design and paint the Absolute Equality mural in Galveston, TX.
Jason
Jones
Miami, Florida 2022
Jason Jones who goes by the artist name of YENGSHUI, is a digital artist, creative blogger, art influencer, and fashion designer from Atlanta, GA, currently resides in Miami, FL. YENGSHUI is a board member of the Miami Black Arts Collective, @miamiblackartscollective. He received a Bachelor's in Fine Arts from AIU, Dunwoody, GA and earned his Master's of Design & Media Management from the Miami International University of Art & Design. His art style includes pop art, symbolism, mixed media, augmented reality, digital nft's, and portrait art. In 2022, Jones was the artist and designer for the Absolute Equality-Juneteenth mural Miami, FL.
KaDavien
Baylor
Shreveport, Louisiana 2022
KaDavien Baylor's work focuses on human transformation, social theories, and encapsulating experience. Drawing on his interest and training in communication design, he combines elements of design and abstraction through many mediums. Known for his “Masters” series, Baylor creates work that focuses on the possibility of using art to promote self and social understanding. He smartly upturns human values and art values. In all aspects of his work, he contends with the notion of art is a powerful tool of communication defined by modern aesthetics and encapsulating design. In 2022, KaDavien was the artist and designer for the Absolute Equality mural in Shreveport, LA.
Keisha Denee Whatley
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2023
Raised in West Philadelphia, Keisha Whatley graduated from the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. At a very young age, Keisha excelled in the drawing and painting discipline and went on to study at Parsons School of Design (NY), The School of Visual Arts (NY), and The Art Institute of Philadelphia (PA). Using her creativity as the main ingredient, her work aims to create something aesthetically beautiful while challenging viewers to question beliefs, inherent biases, and the need for compassion in everyday life.
Rahmaan
Statik
Chicago, Illinois 2023
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Statik became inspired to be involved with the subculture of urban graffiti. A consequent arrest for “vandalism” put him on a mission to legitimize the production of aerosol murals. This became the main focus of his work: public murals that fuse the graffiti aesthetic with a classical training received from the American Academy of Art. Through the Chicago Public Art Group and Gallery 37, Statik instructs children in mural painting techniques and mentors young artists in their craft. Statik is currently developing an instructional video on large-scale aerosol pieces.
Sydney
James
Detroit, MIchigan 2023
Fine arts painter and muralist Sydney G. James is a Detroit native. James has is a BFA graduate of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. Her murals have transformed Detroit’s skyline and her work has earned a coveted 2017 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship. She is an artist on a pointed mission to let each brush stroke spark conversations regarding racial and gender equality. She is co-founder of the biannual BLKOUT Walls street mural festival which debuted in Detroit in 2021. She’s been featured by numerous major marketing brands including: Vans, PepsiCo, Ford Motor Company, Detroit Pistons, and more.
JD
Moore
Dallas, Texas 2023
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, JD has been working full-time as an artist since 2013. JD was inundated with images of unarmed black people being shot by the police and having a negative encounter with an officer after he reached for his weapon upon being startled when he and his friend entered a restaurant. This experience would have an important impact on how and what he created. In 2015, he made the decision to primarily paint people of color, to not only cope with the traumatic images being shown in the media but also to feel like he was contributing to changing the way black men and women are seen.
Tierra
Armstrong
Miami, Florida 2023
Tierra Armstrong is a Miami-based painter and muralist. Her paintings depict figures in sacred moments that transcend space and time. She uses religious iconography, colors as symbolism, and light emanations to articulate the divinity of Black bodies. Her work often explores the balanced duality of feminine and masculine energies irrespective of gender. Influenced by her travels she draws inspirations for her murals from the self-determinism of communities of color.
Our Community
Absolute Equality builds relationships with artists, businesses, community organizations, and volunteers to celebrate one of America’s most influential and essential stories of emancipation and liberty, Juneteenth.
Together, we are reimagining an approach to public art, monuments, and memorials to reflect the nation’s diversity better and highlight a story that was extensively buried or marginalized until 2021, Juneteenth.
The Absolute Equality national mural initiative gives voice to communities that are celebrating Juneteenth around America through the creative lens of public art.
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