Black History Month: Art Is My Weapon

When: Sunday February 15, 2026 12:30PM
Where: via Zoom & In-Person 269th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Must RSVP to receive the link.

Spend an afternoon with Hollis King as he shares his journey using art as his voice to go from being an immigrant in the stockroom to a Grammy nominee. Hollis would like to inspire you to use your voice, your art your, creativity as your weapon in these current challenging days. And to use your art to carve out a new future for yourself and in your community.

With music by Demetrius Daniel. 
And poetry by Kim D. Brandon. 

About the Speaker

Hollis King former vice president and creative director at the Verve Music Group, the largest jazz record label in the world. He was responsible for art direction of all CD packaging, logos, advertising, point-of-purchase and signage. King worked at several design studios before entering the music industry. King has received numerous achievement awards and citations from Communication Arts, How, Print, AIGA, Graphis and the Society of Illustrators, as well as five Grammy nominations. He worked on Zora Neale Hurston “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Set Design for “Afropop Series” Public Television, Creative Direction and set Design for August Wilson American Century Cycle at the Greene Space NPR. Recent work includes “Etienne Charles “San Juan Hill” Geffen Hall. New books include “Imprinted Illustrating Race” Norman Rockwell Museum. “Our Open Caskets to the World” coffee table book. Currently, Hollis runs his own creative company, sits on an executive board in New York, Creative Direction at The Billie Holiday Theater and regularly lectures about creative, and photography, at Advertising agencies, the School of Visual Arts, FIT, Pratt Institute, Art Directors Club, Society of Illustrators, Stella Adler Acting Studio.

About the Host & Poet

Kim D. Brandon is a poet, novelist, artist, activist, and storyteller. A proud mother and lifelong New Yorker, she writes and performs inspirational and cultural stories that uplift and inspire. Her work has appeared in anthologies, stage productions, online journals, and public readings. She is a 2021 Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, a VONA alum, and her poem Love On The Front Line was nominated for Best of the Net in 2021. Kim is the founder of Wild Honey Writers Collective and is deeply involved in writing communities that center women of color and justice-driven storytelling. Follow her at Kimbrandon.com

About the Musician

Hailing from Kensington, Georgia, Demetrius Daniel is a poet, musician, and educator who has resided in the Washington Heights section of New York since 1990.  A graduate of Jacksonville State University, he was a member of the Marching Southerners and an English Major. After moving to New York, he became a middle school English Language Arts teacher. During that time, he began reading poetry in 1996 at the famed Nuyorican Poet’s cafe.  Since then, he has featured at venues in New York such as the , Nightingale Lounge, Cornelia Street Cafe, and the Bowery Poetry Club. Demetrius  has a CD entitled Words Speak on CD baby.com along with being  published in Nomad’s Choir Poetry Journal, Brownstone Poets 2009 Anthology and the online magazine, The Cartier Street Review. Demetrius was also mentioned in the March 2009 New York Times article, “Where Boundaries Are Melting, a Place to Celebrate Differences.”   Currently, Demetrius  plays “Tromboetry” where his poetry is infused with trombone rifts and spirited singing! He reads and performs regularly at “Word Up” bookstore in Washington Heights. He also performs with the sizzling hot rock and roll band, Curtis and Dilettantes. In July 2012, he was featured guest on WUTC radio’s program, “Around About Chattanooga He is a founding member and band leader of The New York City Brass Brothers brass band which was formed in November of 2013 and opened for Junot Diaz at the United Palace. Demetrius has also played at major venues such as the Apollo theater and Rockwood Music Hall. He has traveled and played  around the world in  Ghana, London, Spain, and Tokyo. Check out his music and poetry on http://tromboetry.com/