Mildred Howard facts for kids

Mildred Howard (born in 1945) is an African-American artist. She is famous for her amazing installations and mixed-media assemblages. Her art combines different objects and materials to create new meanings.

Mildred Howard's work has been shown all over the world. You could see it in galleries in cities like Boston, Los Angeles, and New York. Her art has also traveled to places like Berlin, Cairo, London, Paris, and Venice. Many museums, including the Oakland Museum of California and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, keep her artwork in their permanent collections.

Mildred Howard's Early Life and Learning

Growing Up in Berkeley

Mildred Howard was born in 1945 in San Francisco, California. She grew up in South Berkeley, California. Her parents, Rolly and Mable Howard, owned an antiques business. They were also very active in their community. They worked hard for labor unions and civil rights. Mildred has lived in Berkeley since 1949.

Getting an Education

As a young person, Mildred joined groups like SNCC and CORE. She took part in protests against unfair school rules in Berkeley. She earned an Associate of Arts degree in 1977 from the College of Alameda. Later, in 1985, she received her MFA degree from the Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts. This center was part of John F. Kennedy University.

Mildred Howard's Artistic Journey

From Dance to Visual Art

Mildred Howard first started her creative life as a dancer. Later, she began working in visual art. In the early 1980s, her art installations often used windows from old stores or churches. These artworks then grew into larger, walk-in environments.

Creating Unique Art Spaces

For example, in 1990, Mildred Howard built a house. It was made from engraved bottles and sand. This special house was shown at the Afro-American Museum in Los Angeles. It was inspired by a book called Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. In 2005, she made another house, this time from red glass. It was displayed at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

In 2019, her artwork "TAP: Investigation of Memory" was shown. This was at the Oakland Museum of California. It was a powerful art piece. It explored ideas about who we are, church culture, and changes in neighborhoods.

Public Art in the Bay Area

Mildred Howard has also created many public art pieces. You can see them in the Bay Area. One work is Three Shades of Blue. She made this with poet Quincy Troupe. It is on the Fillmore Street bridge in San Francisco. Another piece is The Music of Language. This is on a family housing building in San Francisco.

Art About Home and Community

Howard's art often explores themes of home and belonging. In 2017, she had to move from her studio in Berkeley. This was due to a rent increase. This experience made her think even more about home. It also made her explore how neighborhoods change.

Mildred Howard is not afraid to include social issues in her art. She hopes her art makes people think and feel. She believes that what viewers bring to the art is important.

Personal Stories in Art

Sometimes, Howard includes personal stories in her work. Pieces like Flying Low (2006) and Thirty-Eight Double Dee (1995) touch on feelings of loss. In her installation In the Line of Fire, she used an old family photo. It helped her represent young soldiers of color from the early 1900s.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Honored for Her Art

In 1991, Mildred Howard received the Adaline Kent Award. This was from the San Francisco Art Institute. She won it for her installation Ten Little Children (one got shot and then there were nine). This artwork was a powerful piece. It represented a cemetery and explored important social issues.

She has also received other important awards. These include two Rockefeller Fellowships. She got these to study in Bellagio, Italy. She also received the Joan Mitchell Award. Other honors include an NEA Fellowship in Sculpture. She also won the Flintridge Foundation Award for Visual Art.

Mildred Howard Day

In 2011, Mildred Howard was honored in Berkeley. The mayor, Tom Bates, declared March 29, 2011, as Mildred Howard Day. In 2012, she received a SPUR Award. This is a major civic award in San Francisco.

In May 2023, Howard received an Honorary Doctorate. This was from California State University, East Bay. In April 2025, she was named a Guggenheim Fellow.

Other Important Work

Connecting Art and Learning

In the late 1990s, Mildred Howard worked with Alice Waters. She became the executive director of The Edible Schoolyard. This was a garden program at Martin Luther King Middle School. It taught middle schoolers about gardening and cooking. The focus was on growing food in a healthy way.

Howard also managed an art and communities program. This was at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California. She created lessons that mixed art and science. These lessons were for elementary and middle school teachers.

Community and Global Impact

She has worked in places like Alameda County Juvenile Hall. She also worked in various Bay Area jails. Mildred Howard has even been a cultural ambassador to Morocco. There, she gave talks sponsored by the U.S. State Department. She has taught at many universities. These include Stanford and Brown Universities. She also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute.

In 2018, a documentary was made about Mildred and her mother, Mable Howard. It was called Welcome to the Neighborhood. This film looked at how gentrification and housing issues affected an African-American family. It showed how these issues threatened the diversity of South Berkeley.

What Others Say About Her Art

Art Historian Peter Selz's View

Art historian Peter Selz wrote about Mildred Howard. He said she uses everyday objects in her art. She makes them special. Her art helps us understand history and culture. He noted that her work talks about important issues. These include racism, unfairness, and kindness. He also said her art is very graceful and elegant.

Art Critic Kenneth Baker's View

Art critic Kenneth Baker described Howard's work. He said she uses many different materials. She uses photos, glass, and old household items. People often think of her as a sculptor. But she prefers to be called an "artist." This is because her work is so varied.

Art in America's Leah Ollman's View

Leah Ollman from Art in America also wrote about Howard. She said Mildred Howard uses different art styles. But her main focus is memory. Memory makes her art feel alive and meaningful.

Images for kids

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  Mildred Howard inside The House That Will Not Pass for Any Color Than Its Own, April 2022

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  Howard - 2022