Biography:
The desire to create has consumed Raymond A. Thomas for as long as he can remember. Today, this St. Louis native has cultivated his passion into a vibrant artistic practice that continues to expand with purpose and daring. Thomas received a merit scholarship in 1984 to attend the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied painting, filmmaking and graphic design. In 1988, soon after graduating and receiving his BFA in visual communications, Thomas was hired by Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Company Inc. where he served as art director and creative manager for over 23-years. He also continued his life-long missions of mentoring youth and creating art with showings of his studio works in Chicago and galleries nation-wide. In 2000, Thomas wrote, directed and produced his first film project 12 MINUTES. The 30-minute film short was an official selection to over 20 film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards and honors. The film, which deals with the issues of mass incarceration and the death penalty, continues to be used in community arts engagement efforts with screenings in correctional facilities nationwide. Thomas has written over a half dozen feature screenplays, several of which have been optioned by major motion picture studios. In 2013, Thomas won an EMMY for serving as an associate producer on the documentary COLORBLIND: Rethinking Race, which aired on television station WYCC in Chicago. Besides his film and art practices, Thomas has also been working as a freelance creative for nearly 30 years, working with national and global brands like AT&T. Thomas has served as a board and committee member for many noted Chicago art institutions including: Little Black Pearl, Black Harvest Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival Black Perspectives Sidebar, Chicago Public Art Group and South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC). Thomas also served as artistic/creative director for SSCAC from 2012-2014 curating some of the Center’s most provocative and well-attended art exhibitions in its 75-year history. In 2013 his piece “The Conversion of Mary Magdalene” won “best painting” and “best of show” awards at the Black Creativity juried art exhibition held by the Museum of Science and industry in Chicago. Thomas is a Four-time recipient (2014, 2015, 2017, 2021) of the Individual Arts Program Creative Projects Grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events Grants Department. In 2015 The Burnham Wildlife Corridor Curatorial Committee, Chicago Park District and The Field Museum awarded Thomas funding, along with 2 other artists, for Sankofa for the Earth, a public art project installed on the Chicago lakefront in 2016. Thomas is currently the creative art director for the Jazz Institute of Chicago. In 2021 Thomas created an art wearable and merchandise brand HEROISM. He is also a resident artist at the Bronzeville Artist Lofts in Chicago.
Artist Statement
Every day I am on the grind, confronting the unknown possibilities of my imagination with fearless passion. Through my unwavering devotion to craft and culture, I am reaffirming my humanity through the gift of creating. I have no choice in this because it is simply who I am. I am an artist and like all true artists, our inner urge cannot be bought, taught or bartered. I realized early in my career that my predestination as an artist was directly linked with the burdens I have for my community and for society as a whole. This is not the mission of every artist, but for me, I feel the need to examine the social, spiritual and political realities of our times and how these events interweave through the tears and triumphs of the African American experience. We are travelers all, and in this brief space of time in which we physically occupy this plane of reality, what we leave behind, our works and deeds, can be criticized or canonized for many years to come. Ultimately, I can only hope that my art is experienced, speaks truth and is deemed relevant to the human cause.
