Your Imagination is Your Only Limitation: Life's Intersections with Art

Celebrate The Helis Foundation John Scott Center’s second anniversary with a talk from artist, educator, art evangelist, and ’91 fine art graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, Steve A. Prince. He will talk about his experiences as an art student under the tutelage, mentorship, and inspiration of artist John T. Scott. He will take us on an artistic journey while revealing the intersections of art, history, community, faith, and family. Prince will discuss the tenets of the Xavier Art School philosophy and how it has impacted generations of artists and people from countless fields alike. Prince will share how John Scott's credo of "pass it on" continues to live in the fabric of New Orleans and beyond. About the speaker: Steve A. Prince is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and currently resides in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is the director of engagement and distinguished artist in residence at the Muscarelle Museum at William & Mary. Prince received his BFA from Xavier University of Louisiana and his MFA in printmaking and sculpture from Michigan State University. Prince is a mixed-media artist, master printmaker, lecturer, educator, and art evangelist. He has taught middle school, high school, community college, at 4-year public and private universities, and has conducted workshops internationally in various media. He has worked with several churches of various denominations across the nation spreading a message of hope and renewal philosophically rooted in the cathartic nature of the jazz funerary tradition of New Orleans. To Prince, art media is like languages to a linguist, as he adeptly tithers between two-dimensional and three-dimensional artistic practices while working with virtually every age bracket and multiple ethnicities. He is represented by Eyekons Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Black Art in America in Columbus, Georgia, and Zucot Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. Prince has created several public works, including an 8’ x 8’ mixed media work titled Lemonade: A Picture of America at William & Mary commemorating the first three African American resident students in 1967 at the college, a 15’ stainless steel kinetic sculpture titled Song for John located in Hampton, Virginia, and a 4’ x 32’ communal woodcut titled Links, commemorating the 400th anniversary of 1619 and the first documented Africans at Point Comfort (Hampton, Virginia). Prince has received several honors for his art and scholarship, including the 2010 Teacher of the Year award from the City of Hampton, and he is a 2020 recipient of a VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) Grant. Prince has shown his art internationally in various solo, group, and juried exhibitions. He has participated in several residencies including Artist in Residence at Segura Arts Center at Notre Dame University, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, the Atlanta Printmakers Studio, and the University of Iowa to name a few.