Photo credit: Josefina Santos
Julie Mehretu has always used her art and influence to lift others up. She kicked off the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC), hosting workshops in cities like Dakar, Nairobi, and Cape Town to help emerging artists across the continent.
In late 2024, she donated $2.25 million to New York’s Whitney Museum to fund the Free 25 and Under program, which covers free admission for visitors under 25 so aspiring young artists have access to world-class art and exhibitions without worrying about the price tag.
Mehretu also designed “Uprising of the Sun” in 2025, a large-scale, 83-foot-tall glass installation for the new museum at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. And she’s still being vocal about social justice issues like ending mass incarceration and continues to support an artist residency program that fosters artists of color and LGBTQ+ artists.
Finally, she’s still running Denniston Hill, her artist residency in upstate New York, which gives creatives a space to breathe, reflect, and build community.
