About Kevin Cole

Kevin Cole is a celebrated American artist and educator with degrees from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the University of Illinois at Urbana, and Northern Illinois University, where he was a Rhoden Smith Scholar. Over his 32-year career, he has earned 27 grants and fellowships, 66 art awards, and 51 teaching awards.

He has been widely recognized for his contributions to the arts and education, including receiving the 2020 Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in Georgia, the 2019 Nexus Award from the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and a Proclamation from the City of South Fulton declaring February 1, 2022, “Kevin Cole Day.” His other honors include the Working Artist Fellowship from MOCA GA and multiple community awards for mentorship and innovation.

Cole’s work has appeared in over 490 exhibitions and is held in more than 4,000 public, private, and corporate collections worldwide. His art is included in prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the High Museum of Art, the Clinton Presidential Library, and the Yale University Art Gallery.

He has also completed over 45 public art projects, including the Coca-Cola Centennial Olympic Mural for the 1996 Olympic Games, and his work has been featured in more than 125 publications, including The Washington Post, Sculpture Magazine, The Guardian (Paris), and Forbes.