Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, July 25, 2023: Sister Corita Kent, an American artist, educator, and advocate for social justice (#1862)

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Artist of the Day, July 25, 2023: Sister Corita Kent, an American artist, educator, and advocate for social justice (#1862)

Sister Corita Kent (1918–1986) was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. At age 18 she entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary, eventually teaching and then heading the art department at Immaculate Heart College. During the course of her career, her artwork evolved from using figurative and religious imagery to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the ‘60s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and social injustice. In 1968, she left the order and moved to Boston. After 1970, her work evolved into a sparser, introspective style, influenced by living in a new environment, a secular life, and her battles with cancer. She remained active in social causes until her death in 1986. At the time of her death, she had created almost 800 serigraph editions, thousands of watercolors, and innumerable public and private commissions.

Advancing Corita’s Legacy
Founded in 1997, Corita Art Center, a project of the Immaculate Heart Community, preserves and promotes Corita Kent’s art, teaching, and passion for social justice. Today, Corita Art Center supports exhibition loans and public programs, oversees image and merchandising rights, sells Corita’s original prints, and serves as a resource and archive on her life and work.

Rooted in one of the most diverse cities in the world, Corita Art Center is committed to building pathways for the multitude of voices represented in the local and broader communities we serve. As an organization centered on a female artist who championed diversity, equity, and inclusion through art, education, and social justice advocacy we are committed to championing policies and practices that empower a just, inclusive, and equitable environment within our organization and more broadly, through our public programming.

At our core, we believe that art and arts education are powerful platforms for social change. Recognizing that Corita Art Center engages in the legacy and interpretation of a single individual, we seek to preserve and promote Corita’s life and work by actively supporting a wide breadth of arts programs, exhibitions, and scholarship that cultivate open dialogue and diverse perspectives.

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