Artist in Residence 2017-19: Ira Watkins
Ira Watkins, Hunters Point Shipyard Artist in Residence 2017-18
STAR is pleased to announce the Artist In Residence for 2017-2019. Ira Watkins has been a Bay Area resident since 1957. He is a self-taught artist whose work depicts and celebrates the African-American community in the Bay Area that migrated from the south during WWII to find jobs in the shipyards.
Ira has been a resident at the Davis Senior Center in the Bayview for the last three years. His living and dining area were his studio until he was selected as Artist in Residence, which entitles him to a studio at the Hunters Point Shipyard. He also volunteers to teach art at the Senior Center one morning each week. He is very enthusiastic about his selection as Artist In Residence and looking forward to getting into the studio and starting work.