Father’s Day Portraits 2022
This year, Father’s Day just hits different.
On Sunday, June 19th, we’re celebrating two holidays. We celebrate Father’s Day for the men who put in the work, who teach us about responsibility and respect — for ourselves and our communities. We also celebrate Juneteenth — marking the day in 1865 when the Union Army implemented Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation in the Confederate state of Texas.
To explore the overlap of these two holidays, NGP commissioned Houston-born photographer Omega L. Ruth, Jr. — owner of Omega Ruth Imagery and co-founder of Future Dead Artists — to create a series of portraits celebrating Black fatherhood. Ruth’s goal when creating imagery is to showcase natural beauty, and to reflect and connect with his subject’s cultural heritage. The photographs in this digital exhibition were taken over two days in May 2022, in two historic Atlanta neighborhoods — Five Points and West End. At NGP, we believe positive representation should be more common, and we’re fighting for a world where it is.
Are you a Black dad? We encourage you to reflect on what it means to be a father on this Father’s Day and what it means to be fully free on this Juneteenth. How do you want to pass this wisdom forward to the next generation?
Celebrate these two holidays with us by thanking a father in your life — biological or not —for all they do, and by getting involved with V.I.B.E., NGP’s campaign that seeks to engage, educate, equip, and empower Black men.
About the artist: Omega Ruth Jr. is a photographer, videographer and studio artist. Omega is originally from Houston, TX, but has lived and worked in Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Washington D.C. Metro Area, and Los Angeles, CA. He is a graduate of Full Sail University where he majored in Recording Arts and Entertainment Business. He has a background in education, along with commercial and fine art photography. He is currently advancing his skillset by studying commercial photography at Gwinnett Technical College. Omega’s goal when creating imagery is showcasing natural beauty. The reflection and connection with a subject’s cultural heritage is the aim of Omega’s work. As an artist, Omega values the contributions that all people make to the planet as they journey through this existence. Omega hopes to bring a perspective that will encourage patrons to take a second look as they rethink what beauty truly represents. When Omega chooses his subjects, he looks for the cosmic, the avant-garde and the originality in each personality. His mission is to show the world as he sees it…a never-ending adventure.