PIGMENT INTERNATIONAL TAKES ON THE SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL | TWO JULY EVENTS EXAMINE WHO GETS TO TELL AMERICA'S STORY
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, Pigment International steps into the center of the conversation with back-to-back appearances in mid-July that ask the same question from two different stages: who gets to tell America's story?
On July 16, Founder and CEO Patricia Andrews-Keenan joins the open mic lineup for "America @ 250: A Journalism Reckoning," hosted by NABJ Chicago and the Field Foundation at Impact House in downtown Chicago. Set against a backdrop of press freedom under strain — the U.S. now ranks 57th among 180 nations on the World Press Freedom Index, its lowest standing ever — the evening gathers journalists from across the region for reflection on the past and reimagining of journalism's future. Organized under the theme "Making of a Nation. Unmaking of a Narrative," the event pairs food, drink, and music with voices grounded in real experience.
The next day, July 17, Pigment International moves from the podium to the classroom. At the NAACP National Convention's ACT-SO competition at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, Andrews-Keenan co-leads "Glory! Glory!: Black Artists Reimagine the American Flag," a masterclass for roughly 35 students. Joined by artists Reggie McFly she opens with a visual survey tracing Black artists' engagement with the flag — from Gordon Parks' 1942 "American Gothic" to David Hammons' reworkings — before McFly shares the story behind his own Glory! Glory! flag piece, built around the image of Whipped Peter. Students then transform small flags into personal statements on American identity, guided hands-on by McFly.
Anefertiti Bowman of the DuSable Black History Museum and artist Edo join other Chicago arts leaders serving as ACT-SO judges.
The throughline: at 250 years, the story of America is still being written — and Pigment International is helping write it.
Comments