Black Luminaries

Five works from this series are on view in the exhibition Faculty Show 15.

In 2021, Barry O’Keefe collaborated with the JXN project to produce 11 portraits as part of a year-long public history project in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward neighborhood. The portraits were converted into banners installed on the street around Jackson Ward as 15 streets, alleyways and public spaces were dedicated to Jackson Ward luminaries of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Portrait Subjects included Rosa Dixon Bowser, Lucy Goode Brooks, William Washington Browne, Neverett Eggleston, Lillie Estes, Charles Gilpin, Oliver Hill, Giles B. Jackson, John Jasper, John Mitchell Jr., Lorna Pinckney, A.D. Price, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Abraham Skipwith, Richard F. Tancil, and Maggie L. Walker.