DIGITAL RESIDENT
Derek Holland
FEBRUARY 2026
Derek Anthony Holland, MFA, MPH (born in Montgomery, AL) is an artist and researcher raised between the suburbs of Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA, currently based in Philadelphia. Early in their career Derek conducted research in the Public Health sector earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Washington University in St. Louis and supporting scholarship published in several peer reviewed journals including the Journal of Urban Health, Ethnic and Racial Studies and Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic Derek decided to focus on their artistic practice leading to study at University of Illinois at Chicago earning their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. There, Derek was both a Black Midwest Initiative and Access to Excellence Fellow moving between Public health, Black studies, Criminology and Arts departments.
Dereks’ work draws from and manipulates quotidian experiences to criticise and process constructions of identity through inquiries of labour and ontology. They create works using photography, painting, film, installation, performance, and mixed media that express those experiences through epistemological representations and abstractions. Derek’s practice is guided by a mantric questioning of relationships– Who are you to yourself and to others? How are constructed identities: gender, race, physical and intellectual dis/ability operating in this context? What relationship between materials and gestures can be leveraged?
Dereks’ art has been mentioned in publications including Hyperallergic and Black Copper and has been featured on panel discussions and podcasts that bridge audiences between Public health and visual arts. They have participated in various domestic and international exhibitions and performances including at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO, Blanc Gallery, Chicago, IL, Soho House Chicago, Southside Contemporary, Richmond, VA as well as artist residencies and performances with the New York Arts Program in New York, NY, Institut für Alles Mögliche in Berlin, Germany and Pagoda Imaginaria en Ciudad de Guatemala.