The first phase is underway for a project honoring the late Moneta Sleet, Jr., an Owensboro native who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism. A portrait of Sleet commissioned by K.O. Lewis is available for display throughout the community, along with educational information about Sleet and the painting.
The artwork is currently on display at the H.L. Neblett Community Center. It will be available to community organizations and schools on a rotating basis beginning Tuesday. The artwork may be on loan up to a month depending on its availability and plans to showcase the painting.
The painting will be available to the public until January 31, 2023, at which time it will move to the lobby of the RiverPark Center to be a centerpiece of the the “Through Sleet’s Eyes Festival” in February 2023.
Organizations that would like to host the painting can contact Ellie Johnson at [email protected].
To further educate local students, grade-level lesson plans have been developed. Accompanying the artwork will be a one page biography of Sleet, as well as an artist statement from Lewis detailing his process and vision for the painting.
The portrait was initially unveiled in November by Lewis, Emmy Woosley and several other members of Leadership Owensboro. Woosley said the idea came from the desire to honor people and unite the community, combined with wanting to find a way remember Owensboro natives.
Lewis chose to display Sleet holding a camera as the central focus of the portrait. Over Sleet’s right shoulder is an image of Coretta Scott King holding her daughter as the two grieve during Martin Luther King’s funeral. That’s the image for which Sleet won a Pulitzer Prize.
Over Sleet’s left shoulder an image depicting a photo Sleet took of a woman marching in Birmingham, Alabama. Lewis said that was Sleet’s favorite photo.
To learn more about Sleet’s legacy, click here. To learn more about the origin of the portrait and what it depicts, click here.
