In what’s sure to be a powerful and moving piece for TEDxQuincy, Artist Damon Lamar Reed and filmmaker Latoya Charisse Flowers will present, “Still Searching: Chicago’s Missing Black Women and Girls.”
Their piece for TEDxQuincyStudio will serve as a trailer to the upcoming full-length documentary that follows Mr. Reed, a Chicago hip-hop artist and muralist, has been creating a vivid series of portraits titled “The Searching Project” of missing Black women and girls in the Chicagoland area for the past two decades. In the film, we’ll hear why he started painting these missing women and girls, his creative artistry and process behind each painting, and how he uses his artistic expression to keep their memories alive, in hopes of finding each missing victim. We’ll also hear about Ms. Flowers and her creative process for capturing the project and raising awareness around this important topic. Click here for the documentary’s website and to sign up for updates from the team.
About Artist Damon Lamar Reed
There’s truth to the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Artist Damon Lamar Reed brings that truth to reality. From hip-hop to public art, he strives to create messages that reach the depth of the human condition.
After graduating from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Damon began his career as an Artist and entrepreneur. To date, he has created over 280 public art projects including: works for Super Bowl 46, Showtime(The Chi), Gatorade, the Chicago Blackhawks, Ticketmaster, and Sears to name a few. His work is featured in books such as, Kym Pinders’, Painting the Gospel: Public Art and Religion in Chicago. During the George Floyd riots, the BBC did a feature on the impact of Damon’s art; and recently News Nation, ABC, CBS, WGN and NBC featured him because of his latest series, Still Searching, where he paints portraits of missing women in Chicagoland. He is also filming a documentary with the same name backed by Hulu, Kartemquin Films and Still I Rise Films.
He is a true believer in the POWER of art and he uses it as a catalyst to change the world!
For more info visit www.damonlamarreed.com or @damonlamarreed on social media
About Latoya Flowers
Latoya graduated from the School of Visual Arts and received an MFA in Social Documentary Film. She’s currently directing and producing her first feature-length documentary, Still Searching supported by the Hulu / Kartemquin Films Accelerator Program and the Still I Rise Films Fellowship. She currently is a Senior Multimedia Creative at the Field Museum in Chicago and has made guest speaker appearances on ABC7 Chicago, CBS News Chicago, at the Chicago Botanic Garden, School of the Art Institute and More. Visit the Still Searching Documentary website here.
TEDxQuincy 