MLK Portrait Project

Each year, East End Arts inspires area high school students to participate in a unique community project honoring civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.

On View at the Lyceum Gallery – inside the MLRC Library at Suffolk County Community College, Eastern Campus | January 27 – March 7, 2025

Inspired by an Icon

Since 2020. the MLK Portrait Project unites the local youth community through artistic collaboration in celebration of Black History Month. Participating Long Island High Schools independently create large-scale mosaic portraits of civil rights leaders, each multimedia piece consisting of 16 individual panels and measuring 48” x 48”. The project braids education of American History and art, and its gallery exhibition brings students from many districts together.

This year, the MLK Portrait Project includes work elementary students from PS106 in Brooklyn, under the guidance of EEAC’s Art Programming Director, Kenneth Jackson, who pioneered the MLK Portrait Project. The 2025 exhibition includes works from 16 schools and is held in the Lyceum Gallery at Suffolk Community College’s Eastern Campus (SCCC).

MLK Portrait Project Programs:

February 13: Traciana Graves presents Empowerment Through Adversity from 11:00AM – 12:15PM in the MLRC Library, Rm # 107/108.
February 18-25: Black History & Black Inventions Display on view in the MLRC Library, Rm #107/108. [Courtesy of the SCCC Office of Multicultural Affairs]
February 21: Free screening of The League, along with a panel discussion with athletes Dwight “Doc” Gooden, Gary Brown, Chris Vaccaro, and Kia Wright at 7:00PM at The Suffolk [Presented by the Riverhead Anti-Bias Task Force & Mark McLaughlin] Info & Tickets
February 27: Student Artist Reception at the Lyceum Gallery from 4:00PM – 6:00PM

A Reception to Celebrate the Student Artists

A Reception to Celebrate the Student Artists will be held on Thursday February 27, 2025, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, at the Lyceum Gallery at 121 Speonk-Riverhead Road, Riverhead, NY 11901, MLRC 1st Floor.

Viewing Times: Monday – Thursday 9:00 am to 9:30 pm and 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Fridays, during February 17 – March 7, 2025.

List of Participating Schools Since 2021

Bridgehampton
Center Moriches
Comsewogue
East Hampton
Eastport South Manor
Greenport
Hampton Bays
Longwood
Mattituck
Mount Sinai
Riverhead
Rocky Point
Shelter Island
Southampton
Three Village Academy
William Floyd

See photos below.

In the News!

The MLK Portrait Project is in the news! Click here to check it out.

Through the MLK Portrait Project, students unleash their creativity to create individual panels that come together in communion to create a portrait of a civil rights leader. Students learn how the power of the individual is amplified in the community.

Once complete, the mosaic portraits first hang in their corresponding schools and then are displayed in a public gallery. The originals are sold at auction and the proceeds support the East End Arts School scholarship for art students.

Build your collection and participate in the annual MLK Portrait Project. It’s a fabulous way to support current high school art students and future students in need of financial assistance.

Portrait sales open January 20, 2025.

For those new to the MLK Portrait Project and as a refresher for returning participants, the process remains unchanged. After choosing your image, ideally in a striking black and white format, you will divide it into 16 squares. Each of your students will be responsible for one square, with the possibility of some students taking on two squares if your school has fewer participants. The true magic lies in allowing each student to express themselves through their unique artistic style, which collectively breathes life into the final portrait. While perfection isn’t a prerequisite, maintaining a sense of continuity is key since it is a portrait.

Our time-tested approach to creating the final portrait remains consistent, following these essential dates: