From left to right: Francesca Miller, Peace Shelbi and Richard Duarte Brown promote messages of peace and community on the Ohio Theater.
Francesca Miller builds Black joy through community engagement
Sometimes entrepreneurship is born out of conditions of personal struggle and social unrest. 2020 ruptured the lives of many through a global pandemic, joblessness and the Black Lives Matter movement. Through artmaking and community engagement, Francesca Miller (BAE Informal, 2019) confronted these challenges head-on to affect positive change. In response to the Columbus protests over the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd and the inequality and injustice that continues to negatively impact communities of color in the United States, Miller, Peace Shelbi and Richard Duarte Brown painted a mural on the boarded-up Ohio Theatre building. This vibrant mural presented positive images of Columbus’ Black presence to actively confront media narratives through disrupting racial stereotypes and presenting hopeful futures. Where news and other media outlets distort and misrepresent Black and brown bodies, Miller used art to remind us of Columbus’ Black cultural connections and vibrant communities of color, rich in both history and tradition.
“It was such an honor to be able to paint a message of hope and victory on some wooden panels covering the Ohio Theatre, declaring the beauty and brilliance of men with brown skin,” Miller said. “Everyone has their methods of contending with change. This is ours. This mural is a declaration. In the midst of pain and tension, I am glad we can display a message of hope to bring hope and joy.”
And Miller didn’t stop there. She continued to paint numerous publicly commissioned murals in the Columbus downtown, Easton and Short North areas, with generous support from CAPA, Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Columbus Commons. Her voice and presence in the community drew the attention of Abercrombie & Fitch, who approached Miller to design their Equity & Justice T-shirt Capsule in 2021. Commissioned to create artwork for four T-shirts distributed in stores throughout the United States, Miller’s positive messages contains the “Black Girl Magic” she experienced here on campus in Sullivant Hall, where many of her friends’ dance performances inspired her to create these images.
Miller continues to work as a full-time freelance artist in Columbus on both commercial and publicly funded projects. Her most recent project is a collaboration with the Franklinton Arts District and Land-Grant Brewing Company, where she was selected as the July 2021 Franklinton Fridays Music Series artist, charged with designing a social justice inspired beer label.
At the core of Miller’s entrepreneurship is a personal commitment to social justice and community. Amidst her freelance projects, she continues to work as an art educator, in her fourth year as a visual arts instructor for the Lincoln Theatre's PATTERNZ summer arts program. Sometimes what feels most novel and inspiring to others originates from personal values.
