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Michael Stevenson
Dispatch: The Fire Next Time, 2026
The opportunity to create art in Sacramento’s historic Fire Alarm Dispatch Station inspired visual artist Michael Stevenson to explore an expanded vision of dispatches, leading him to the work of American writer and civil rights activist, James Arthur Baldwin. James Baldwin is revered for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His fiction poses fundamental personal questions concerning masculinity, sexuality, race, and class and created complex narratives that influenced both the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement in mid-20th-century America. He was also an influential public figure and orator. Baldwin is known for several ‘dispatches,’ some from his travels in the American South and others from key events, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, funeral. This installation takes its name from the 1963 book by Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, which takes its title from the words of an African American spiritual:
God gave Noah the rainbow sign,
No more water,
The fire next time.
Michael Stevenson
"My creative world has largely been shaped by the usage of words and images of daily life in the African American community in which I grew up. The way people dressed, the foods that were shared, and the way people interacted all influenced my view of the world. So did the entertainers, literary figures,visual artists, sports figures and political advocates we all looked up to. Along with the promise of getting an education, and values like faith, hard work and discipline that challenged us to reach for a better life.
My crosshatch pencil drawings are what I’m primarily known for and my use of mixed media of watercolor, acrylic, pencil and computer generated graphics sustain creative excitement in new works. My work has mostly been collected by private buyers, businesses and university collections. Currently I am pursuing gallery showings and commissioned works."
@mestevenson3
