Dominique Hodge Artist Profile
Welcome to the first Story Circle of 2026!
So much going on in Millican world we want to share with you — our first salon, a grant opportunity, our creative agency and an artist profile of Sumter native Dominique Hodge. Enjoy!
Arthenia’s Voice
Each month we share from the literary legacy of our inspiration, Dr. Arthenia Jackson Bates Millican.This thought-provoking quote is from the essay “The Motherhood Myth: Black Women and Christianity in The Deity Nodded,” by Rita Dandridge, a close friend and colleague and published in 1985 by the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS). Dandridge reviewed Arthenia’s book “The Deity Nodded,” a copy of which is preserved in the Langston Hughes Memorial Library Special Collections.
Feature Story
Artist Profile – Dominique Hodge
Would the Child in You Be Proud?
He asks himself this question every day. He asks the kids he teaches to ask it, too.
Would the child in you be proud of you? Not proud of your income or your title or your follower count. Proud of you. The person you became. The life you chose to live.
“If you can say yes to that every day,” says artist Dominique Hodge, “you are winning.”
Dominique Hodge | Photo Credit: KELA
From childhood animations to adult visions
Hodge grew up in Sumter, filling notebooks with Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z characters, dreaming of becoming an animator.
He never saw himself in fine art. No one who looked like him, no work that reflected his world back at him with power and beauty rather than struggle. That absence left a mark.
It also left a mission. Today, known artistically as Jakeem Da Dream, Hodge creates afro-futuristic paintings that put dark-hued figures in cosmic settings, light radiating from the third eye. The work draws from mythology, Hermetic philosophy, African spirituality and history. It is layered, vivid and unapologetically ambitious.
And it is made, above all else, for the kid he used to be.
Back to his homeland to make his mark
He could answer yes to his own question easily, by any external measure.
He has shown work across South Carolina and beyond. He sits on the board of Sumter County Gallery of Art. For eight years he has worked with the Auntie Karen Foundation’s Artpreneur Program, placing working artists in rural schools across the state. He has built a network, earned recognition and is, by his own account, living the best season of his life.
But the question isn’t about achievement. It’s about integrity. About whether the 10-year-old with the notebooks would recognize the man and feel proud of where those notebooks led.
Hodge believes he can say yes. Every day.
Meet Dominique Hodge — his art, his philosophy and why he’s choosing Sumter when he could be anywhere. We’ll have his full story on the Millican Arts website soon with more of his gorgeous work. Follow him on Instagram at @theycallmemr.hodge.
Millican News
Inaugural Millican Salon is April 30
The Millican Arts Foundation is bringing back the tradition of the salon, small, private gatherings with good company and a safe space to say what’s on your mind. No agenda, no assigned topic, no performance. Just what you bring.
The inaugural salon will be guided by Bob and Carol Warner, whose gifts include creating the kind of room where people speak freely, listen deeply and leave feeling less alone.
Attendance is limited and by invitation only. We are looking for additional hosts and locations, because every story matters. Contact us if you’re interested.
Check Out the Millican Media Website
Millican Media, a media, marketing and learning technology agency and for-profit affiliate of Millican Arts, is open for business. Discover how you or your company can work with our talented team at MillicanMedia.co.
Millican Media Partners in Grant from Minnesota Department of Education
Millican Media, through its proprietary learning management system (LMS) platform, is partnering with Experience Happiness in a two-year grant that will equip nine Minnesota schools with certified Happiness Practice facilitators to create a statewide cohort focused on reducing educator burnout. This grant is the first in a series Millican Media is actively seeking with Experience Happiness.
Poetry and Essay Contest Attracts 46 Submissions!
The deadline for “Searching the Darkness for the Light” Poetry and Essay Contest closed April 19 with 46 submissions across three age categories — middle school, high school and adult. $1600 in prizes will be awarded. Winners will be notified around April 30 and winning entries will be published in the Story Circle in mid-May.
Judges are: Joshua Miller, teacher and coach for the Sumter High School Speech and Debate Team; Monique Davis, poet; and Elisa Morelli, author and retired teacher.
New Foundation Board Holds First Meeting
The new board for Millican Arts Foundation held it’s first meeting on April 22. Convened by Presidsent William Lamont Dupree, Executive Director Richard (Rick) Jones made a presentation on the Foundation’s current projects, fundraising and goals. Board members are: Anitra Potts, treasurer; Elisa Morelli, secretary; Nancy O’Brien, founder, Experience Happiness; Annie Rivers, executive director, Sumter Museum of Art; and Herbert Johnson, music teacher at Sumter High School and assistant professor at Morris College in Sumter.
Event Calendar is Live
The Millican Arts website event calendar is now live. Find it here: Millican Arts Event Calendar. Because you are subscribed to the Story Circle, you’ll always be the first to know.
Actively Seeking Arts Investors and Sponsors
The Foundation is actively soliciting cultural arts investors and sponsors to underwrite Millican Arts 2026 programs and operations. Events include a poem and essay contest, monthly salons, the return of the Millican Arts Festival, other Sumter events and long-awaited renovations of the Millican House, the historically recognized home of Arthenia Jackson Bates Millican.
There are tiered sponsorship levels for individuals and companies who believe in investing in cultural philanthropy, including an Underserved Community Sponsorship to provide memberships to students and families who might otherwise be unable to participate. The Foundation is focusing its efforts on three communities in 2026: veterans and disabled vererans, students and youth and faith and religious communities.
To become a ground-floor investor or sponsor contact Rick at Rick@millicanarts.org.
Affordable Memberships Available!
The Foundation has an affordable membership plan that allows anyone who shares our vision of a world where every story matters to support our growth and community. Seven membership levels ranging from Student ($10) to Founder’s Circle ($2,500) ensure everyone can participate at a personally sustainable level.
On the Horizon
The May Millican Salon
Date and location to be determined but we’re aiming for the end of the month. We’re keeping the salons small and intimate for now. Contact us if you’re interested.
Save the Date! The 4th Millican Arts Festival Returns Sept 18-19
Put it on your calendar now: September 18 and 19. Stay tuned to this newsletter for details. If you already know you’re interested in volunteering, contact Rick atRick@MillicanArts.org or (704) 942-4130.
Many people have asked when we’re bringing back our popular Millican Arts Festival. You’re the first to know that we’re targeting early summer 2026! Stay tuned to this newsletter for details. If you already know you’re interested in volunteering, contact Rick at Rick@MillicanArts.org or (704) 942-4130.
Follow us on Facebook!
Sponsor and Partner Recognition
We thank and welcome these partners, sponsors and new members to the Millican Arts family!
PARTNERS
Bob and Carol Warner – Facilitators of the inagural Millican Salon
Nancy O’Brien – Founder of The Happiness Practice and grant partner
MEMBERS
Lamont Dupree, Elisa Moreilli, Barbara Cheeseboro
DONORS
Brian and Sarah Dees
Tell Us Your Story. Because It Matters
Something happened that changed everything for you. Maybe it was a single conversation, a loss, an unexpected door that opened. Maybe it arrived quietly, and you didn’t recognize it as a turning point until later.
We want to hear about it.
Story Circle is opening its pages to you. Each issue, we’ll feature a reader story — a real account of a life-changing moment, told in your words. No polish required. No credentials needed. Just your truth.
Dr. Arthenia Millican spent a lifetime insisting that ordinary lives hold extraordinary meaning. That conviction is at the heart of everything we do at Millican Arts Foundation. Because every story matters — including yours.
How to submit:
Write up to 300 words about a moment that changed the direction of your life. Include your name, city and state, and — if you’d like — a photo of yourself. Send it to millicanarts@millicanarts.org with the subject line “My Story.”
A few things to know: We acknowledge every submission. Stories selected for publication may be lightly edited for length and clarity, and we’ll notify you before your story appears. Publication is based on space availability in a subsequent issue of Story Circle. By submitting, you grant Millican Arts Foundation first publication rights to print your story in Story Circle and on MillicanArts.org. All other rights remain with you, the author.
There’s no deadline. This is a standing invitation.
The circle is open. Step in.
Millican Arts Will Only Be As Strong as the Community that Supports It
The Story Circle is the official newsletter of the Millican Arts Foundation.
Look for the Story Circle in your inbox every month, with several ways for you to get involved and shape this community.
