Celebrating Halim Flowers, USA Leader and Visionary
Washington, DC — Join us for an evening in our Washington, DC gallery celebrating the visionary artist Halim Flowers on the occasion of his recent graduation as an Obama Foundation USA Leader.
To mark this milestone, Flowers has created a powerful new collection of works inspired by his time in the program, reflecting growth, resilience, and creative transformation.
Flowers will be in attendance at the opening, where he will debut the collection, sign copies of his published hardcover Love Is the Vaccine, and present a special spoken word performance.
Please see below for additional details, and preview the collection here.
Event Details:
DTR Modern Galleries
2820 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007
Friday, April 17th
5PM - 8PM
RSVP’s required.
Please inquire through the button below, or email us at [email protected] to be added to the RSVP list.
New work on display at DTR Modern’s DC gallery.
Autodidact artist Halim A. Flowers (b. 1980, Washington, DC) is a multifaceted creator whose work spans visual art, spoken-word performance, activism, entrepreneurship, and authorship. With eleven published nonfiction books and a global platform advocating for human rights, Flowers is driven by a mission to reframe narratives around love, dignity, and mass incarceration. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice and Cultural DC, and is widely known for his guiding mantra: “Love is the antibody.” His creative voice, both visual and literary, is forged through decades of introspection, discipline, and unyielding hope.
In 1997, at just sixteen years old, Flowers was arrested and wrongfully sentenced as a juvenile to two life sentences in Washington, D.C. After serving 22 years, he was released under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) of 2016, which allowed juvenile lifers to petition for resentencing. His story received national attention through HBO’s Emmy-winning documentary Thug Life in DC and Kim Kardashian-West’s film The Justice Project. Upon release in 2019, he became a Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow and an Echoing Green Fellow, stepping immediately and powerfully into the art world.
During his incarceration, Flowers pursued higher education through Georgetown University’s Prison and Justice Initiative, studying Government, Philosophy, Reparations and African-American Literature, and English under academic advisor Professor Marc Morjé Howard. In 2020, supported by the Art for Justice Fund, he was featured as a “Justice Ambassador” in the documentary Halim’s Hope. His TEDx Talk Criminal Justice Reform that same year further solidified his role as a national voice for prison reform and restorative justice.
Flowers’ artistic style, which he calls “optical improvisation,” fuses elements of street art, Neo-Expressionism, Basquiat lineage, abstraction, color theory, and visual poetry. His paintings often explore and reclaim the dehumanizing labels placed upon incarcerated youth, particularly the word “superpredator,” while offering counter-narratives of radical love, resilience, survival, and spiritual liberation. His work is celebrated for its emotional urgency and its bold, electric palette that speaks simultaneously to trauma and transcendence.
Flowers’ expanding global presence includes exhibitions, performances, and collaborations with major cultural institutions, brands, and public figures. He has been commissioned for a broad range of high-profile projects, from a live painting performance at a Norwegian royal wedding to works celebrating the Queen of England’s Platinum Jubilee and Warner Brothers’ centennial. In 2025, he was selected as the USA Leader for the Obama Foundation for the 2025–2026 term, one of the highest recognitions for emerging national changemakers.
Please contact [email protected] with collector inquiries.
Halim Flowers holding hardcover, ‘Love is the Vaccine.’
Click below to purchase in preparation for the book signing on April 17th.