Joshua Mays (born c.1976) is an American painter, illustrator, and muralist. His work, which typically features black subjects in fantastical settings, is considered by many to be an example of

Afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocu ...

, although he does not use the label to describe himself. He was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and is now based in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Work

Mays is self-taught and sold his first commissioned piece in high school. He names album cover artist

Mati Klarwein Abdul Mati Klarwein (April 9, 1932 – March 7, 2002) was a French painter of German origin best known for his works used on the covers of music albums. Personal life Mati Klarwein was born in Hamburg, Germany. His mother Elsa Kühne was an ...

as an influence, and he has done album art for

Jneiro Jarel Omar Jarel Gilyard, known by his stage name Jneiro Jarel, is an American recording artist, music producer, composer and Disc Jockey, DJ. Recognized for his versatile, abstract, and often experimental style, he is also known for his beat-making ali ...

and Jill Scott. Mays's murals include the "BEACON" series, which is based on a quote by

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

: “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” This series consists of murals in Oakland at 23rd Avenue and 24th Street, 829 Vermont St., West Oakland, and 1700 Broadway. The piece at 1700 Broadway is called ''Beacon Frequency Reader'' and is one of the city's largest murals. Its subject is a girl with a staff, who is surrounded by birds. Mays is quoted as says the girl is a "gatekeeper to a fantastical realm." The mural's installation was arranged by curator Sorell Raino-Tsui, who negotiated the installations of other large murals in Oakland's Uptown neighborhood. Joshua Mays and

King Britt King Britt (born 1968) is an American educator, DJ and record producer from Philadelphia. Biography Britt is a 1986 graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1987, he started working at Tower Records, as a buyer for th ...

, working with

Mural Arts Philadelphia Mural Arts Philadelphia is a non-profit organization that supports the creation of public murals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1986 as Mural Arts Program, the organization was renamed in 2016. Having ushered more than 3,000 murals into ...

, created an "

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

mural" at 5300 Lansdowne Ave in 2018. The piece, ''Dreams, Diaspora and Destiny'', included a mural by Mays and Mural Arts Philadelphia, music by Britt, and a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

for viewers. Other locations where he has painted murals include Johannesburg, Mexico City and Jakarta. In 2018,

San Francisco Magazine ''San Francisco'' is an American monthly magazine devoted to the people, culture, food, politics, and arts of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published monthly by Modern Luxury publications. History There have been two separate ''San Francis ...

named him as one of "100 artists putting the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

on the map." In February 2019, the

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), ...

hosted an event in Oakland for its My Brother's Keeper initiative, which former president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

attended. Mays was commissioned by the Obama Foundation to create an installation for the venue, and he produced murals of smiling black boys. He also spoke to youth at the event about life as an artist. In November 2020 it was announced that

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...

and ABG Art Group were partnering to commission a mural about social justice for Liberation Park in Oakland by Mays and Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith.

References

External links

Mays discussing his BEACON series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mays, Joshua Living people American contemporary painters African-American contemporary artists American muralists Artists from Denver Artists from Oakland, California 1976 births African-American painters 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people