Project Description

This design is a reflection of the story of how my family came to Kansas, originating from the Choctaw Indian Nations of Oklahoma. From that reservation was found my great (x3) grandfather, Isaac Newton, as a baby, who was then taken to Kansas, grew up to then meet my great (x3) grandmother, Mattie Mae. They then had 15-18 children, which led to my great (x2) grandfather, Author, to then have my grandmother, Lachomer, who then had my mother, who is one of 11.

I named this piece “Blossoming Origins” because of the ways different members in my family have impacted Kansas City in terms of giving back and investing in their community. Like many of our families, we’ve suffered through trials and tribulation that have shaped our convictions for how we show up in the world and how we teach our future generations to come. While this is a small portion of our family story, I focused on my parents and my younger brother to show the progression of our life in Kansas City. From engaging in community outreach to the homeless population with my mother and her siblings’ non profit called Helping Hands Center of Hope, to my brother getting full ride basketball scholarships to D2 colleges as my father has coached him in, and to embedding myself in Kansas City as a creative either visually or performative to raise awareness & engagement to different issues within our community.

Medium

Digital drawing

Location

Library Northbound KC Streetcar Shelter

Bio

Michelle Robin is a visual artist whose main medium is acrylic painting, with the goal of story telling through the formatting of metaphorical embodiment of people in abstract environments. Throughout her eight-year-long career, she has executed various gallery installations across the Kansas City Metro area such as the Kansas City Art Coalition “Confronted with the Gaze of Another”, and The Zhou B Art Center’s “Reclaiming the Canvas” exhibition. She is also a 2025 recipient of the 18th & Vine Artist Growth Grants that has supplied her current ongoing project installation at The Justice & Dignity Center. This project consists of seven murals that stretch from their multipurpose room through the connected hallway, with renditions of the organization’s foundational pillars. Her process of developing concepts focuses around the physical appearance of the body, rather than expression through the eyes. Outside of her creative career, Michelle maintains her youth development career through working with students on the Autism Spectrum as a Registered Behavioral Technician.

Website | mikefigures.squarespace.com 

Instagram | @michelle_mike_robin