In “It Takes Courage to Love All Unconditionally,” celebrated artist Halim Flowers unveils a new body of work created in Cleveland expressly for the Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival and drawing its energy and vision from the festival’s central theme of courage.
“The works in this special exhibition explore courage as a visual language for unconditional love. When courage leads, empathy deepens, giving rise to a sense of closeness that invites viewers to move beyond fear and toward a more generous, compassionate way of being.”
—Halim Flowers
Presented in partnership with District Gallery, the exhibition channels Flowers’s signature blend of vivid color, vulnerability, and radical hope. Extending his vision beyond the exhibition walls, Flowers is also collaborating with youth culture brand Xhibition to craft exclusive festival apparel inspired by the theme of courage.
About Halim Flowers
Halim Flowers was born in Washington, DC, and at age 16 was sentenced to two life terms for a crime he did not commit. His story—later featured in Kim Kardashian’s The Justice Project and the Emmy Award–winning Thug Life in DC—traces his transformation from incarcerated youth to celebrated artist, writer, and advocate.
While in prison, Flowers discovered poetry as a means of survival and expression; after his release in 2019 under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, he quickly emerged as a powerful voice for justice, sharing his work publicly within days. His artistic practice has since expanded into vibrant, Basquiat-inspired visual art now exhibited internationally.
A Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and 2025–26 Obama Foundation Leader, Flowers has delivered a TEDx Talk, studied through Georgetown University’s Prison and Justice Initiative, and contributed to MoMA’s landmark Marking Time exhibition. His work continues to champion human rights and illuminate the transformative power of art.