Delano Mills

SPRINGFIELD, 2024 - 2025

Delano Mills was born in 2000 in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he currently resides and works. He earned his BFA from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2023. Mills is dedicated to enhancing Black representation in comics and manga through sequel art, showcasing Black individuals as the main characters across various genres. Mills self-published his first book, "Desert Sunflower," and achieved recognition with his one-shot "Hollow Grimoire," which won the Bronze Prize in the Manga Plus Creators November contest. This accolade led to the publication of his work in Shueisha’s Manga Plus app in February.

ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNER

The Springfield City Library, Mason Square Branch actively connects with its diverse community, providing resources and safe space for all. The Mason Square Branch is a trusted hub for free access to information, technology, social and civic engagement, support of well-being and lifelong learning, and is critical to the neighborhood’s cultural life. It will offer its community room, resources and staff to support local artists and youth and increase capacity for accessible community-directed projects and programming.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services offers programs to address some of the most pressing needs of its under-resourced community. It fosters an environment where the aspirations of the community are nurtured and empowered to achieve new realities of peace, social and economic justice, self-determination, and self-sufficiency. As social impact partner, they will connect artists to the community, youth in their programs, and guide development of projects and programs in focus areas where they offer services.