Street2Canvas uses art to depict Black American history
DORCHESTER — A local Boston artist is working to tell the stories of Black Americans and Black American history through "street art."
"Breaking down segregation in schools was a major thing, I was a part of that. I was in the Metco program for high school, so I'm a product of these stories," said George Freeman.
Spend five minutes with Freeman and it won't take long to discover what's on his mind or what's in his heart to create.
"These are things that I wanted to make sure that we know about that can't be taken away," he said.
The 36-year-old Dorchester native is an artist with a passion for Black American history, ranging from Hip Hop to Civil Rights.
"[I] get these stories that typically don't get told, not only just a Black story but a Black Boston story," he said.
He calls the work Street2Canvas and his current collection, Stamps: The Story of US, is on display at The Muse on Blue Hill Ave.
"US is actually a play on words. It's US, so us as black people—our journey coming to America, U.S. as the nation, and us as a collective of all Americans because Black history is American history," he smiled.
Freeman has created over 100 acrylic oil paint pieces, calling his "street art" an acquired taste but one that's needed.
"There's not a lot stories being told about the experience of Black folks in America and I feel like it needs to be told more because if we don't tell these stories how are we gonna move forward as a generation or as people in general?" he said.
His most recent works feature five influential people — Bill Russell, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela — who impacted his life growing up as a poor kid in Boston.
"I grew up in that age when Mandela came down to Madison Park," he said. "That was huge! People still talk about it to this day."
Each one of the paintings goes for $1,000. For every sale, Freeman donates a portion of the proceeds to Boston non-profits.
"It makes me feel incredible," Freeman said. "I was a kid from very humble beginnings. The joke is we had to save up to be poor so having the ability to give $500, $600, $700, $800 to a program goes a long way."
He's making his own mark in Boston history one art piece at a time.
