Houstonia Magazine

4 Flower-Studded Murals Honor Houston Artist and Writer Naomi Polk

As the daughter of Honduran immigrants, artist Jasmine Zelaya felt drawn to Naomi Polk, another Houston artist, daughter of an immigrant, and woman of color.

IMAGE: GISELE PARRA

The Six Ward tribute celebrates the life of a remarkable local artist.

By Gwendolyn Knapp. Houstonia Magazine, March 2020 issue.

Houstonia Magazine highlights the Washington Avenue murals that honor the legacy of Naomi Polk, a longtime Sixth Ward resident, visual artist, and writer, as seen through the eyes of Houston artist Jasmine Zelaya.

“Commissioned by Arts District Houston, funded by the city, and completed in December, Tribute to Naomi Polk consists of four colorful portraits that follow their subject from infancy through elder years, set amidst vibrant floral patterns that symbolize, per the artist, the beauty of the matriarchy. In each portrayal Polk’s eyes, somehow both forlorn and hopeful, stare out at the viewer from a wall of color.”

Read the feature in Houstonia Magazine.

View my images of the murals and other public art works here.