Jeff Edwards: You’ve been working on the “To Be Free” series for over a decade, and you’re drawing from a history of Black activism in the U.S. that goes back more than four decades, but it feels like this show couldn’t be more timely. What are your thoughts on how this work relates to what’s going on in the U.S. right now?

Sophia Dawson: I guess when I first started making this work, there was not really room for dialogue for it. It felt like some of it was me just making things up. Or not just making things up; essentially there was no audience that was ready to hear the narratives of the political prisoners, of the people I talked about in my work. I felt like it wasn't being received well.

Once Donald Trump became president, that was the first time that I saw a huge population of people who normally didn't care about the issues that I care about as an artist really start to take a stance and notice things that were going on in the world around them that weren’t right. Fast forward the last year: there were so many doors that seemed open, A lot of people were seeking to talk about.things that were done years ago—like a decade ago, seven years ago—and though the work was relevant when I created it, because of the season and the time that we're in as a country, it's become a lot more relevant, a lot more well-received, and a lot more spoken of, and that's been a very exciting process to watch. I do hope that my work serves as a voice to movement.

I should backtrack and say that I don't take credit for my gift. It's a God-given gift. It's all inspired by the Holy Spirit, and I do think that there is such a thing as divine intervention, and I believe that there’s a lot that the Lord wants to step in and do; since biblical days, he was always looking for a vessel that he could use. And so my work is twofold. It's a form of activism and it’s a form of ministry. It's meant to inspire and uplift people who do care about the narratives talked about in my work, but it's also meant to kind of pose a threat to all the opposing forces, everyone who does not understand the work that needs to be done, or who doesn't agree.

JE: So when you were starting to make the work, did you feel like there wasn't a lot of other stuff out there like that?

SD: Yeah. I mean, if I feel like I've done any groundwork, it’s less about the paintings, and more about the process in which I work with individuals that are featured in my work, actually writing letters, actually going to visit people in prison, actually meeting with family members who have lost someone to police brutality, who have someone who was incarcerated for political reasons, and then moving from there to create the work—as opposed to just following what's trending: the most popular hashtags, what's in the news—building a practice that's rooted in serving God's people. I do feel like there is a bit of a foundation being laid in that area.

JE: In the series, you’re taking historical moments that are often treated as part of the grand sweep of history and narrowing the focus to the lives and experiences of the activists at the center of these moments. I’d love to know more about that: how you decided on that approach, and what it how that relates to your own interests as an artist and a storyteller.

SD: Like I mentioned before, my work is led by the Holy Spirit and so I’ve kind of just moved as I'm directed. Ten years ago I was in an African American history class [at SVA] and I got pulled in. I basically learned about a part of my history for the first time, specifically the narratives of political prisoners, and so there was a freaking in my heart which I know now was the Holy Spirit, that said, "OK, now do something," and I went from making paintings to meeting family members of political prisoners, to them suggesting that I start writing letters, and then the letters turned into everything else.

My goal is just for me to be extremely sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And whatever He directs me to do, I do it. But I know now that a lot of what I'm called to do is aligned with serving people. So whether I'm writing a letter, serving our church, or serving my community, as long as there's a soul attached, that's usually how I know what process to take.