“Art evangelist” Steve Prince is on a mission to deliver art to the people, people to the art and all of it to William & Mary’s Muscarelle Museum of Art.

Prince is serving as the museum’s first director of engagement and distinguished artist in residence, capping a decade of connection with W&M and the Williamsburg community.

Prince’s work was first shown here in the Andrews Gallery in 2009 and since then, the New Orleans native has spent summers working with local middle-schoolers, had his work featured at the Muscarelle and led talks and workshops with W&M’s Lemon Project.

Each person is a seed for the future as it relates to this institution, as it relates to this nation.”

His knack? Using art to explore local history and to heal communities.

“Each person is a seed for the future as it relates to this institution, as it relates to this nation,” Prince says.

See for yourself at Swem Library, which houses “Lemonade: A Picture of America.” The mural was created by students, faculty and alumni, along with Williamsburg residents and the university’s first African-American students in residence, led by Prince. Its unveiling marked the 50^th anniversary of those students arriving at William & Mary.

This year, Prince will similarly explore with the community the 400^th anniversary of the first Africans arriving on these shores.