Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs is a visual artist, organizer, and community builder who has transformed the cultural landscape of Boston through his powerful art and commitment to youth education.
Born and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts during the Hip-Hop Golden Era, Gibbs saw the power of graffiti as a form of self-expression. As a teen, graffiti became a tool for him, and others in his community, to chronicle and immortalize their culture and history. Problak’s vision to beautify the predominantly Black and Brown communities of Boston is a driving force behind his artistic practice.
Gibbs has a strong focus on arts education. As co-founder of Artists for Humanity (AFH), an arts non-profit that hires and teaches creative skills to youth, Gibbs served in numerous leadership roles for 32 years. He has been an adjunct educator for Boston Public Schools, conducting countless workshops and panels at numerous colleges and high schools in Greater Boston. Gibbs also partners with Madison Park Technical Vocational High School’s Art Program to curate a rotating public art campus, offering emerging graffiti writers and muralists real-time opportunities to experience a guided practice.
Gibbs’ recent 5-part Breathe Life mural series has received national acclaim, most recently as the first local and Black artist to paint the coveted Dewey Square Mural on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including being named one of Boston's 100 Most Influential People in 2022, Best of Boston, Artist and Best of Boston, Muralist. Additionally, he has been recognized with the Boston Celtics’ Hero Among Us Award, the Nubian Foundation Visionary Award, the MLK Drum Major Award, the Newell Flather Award for Leadership in Public Art, the Brother Thomas Fellowship, the Graffiti Artist of the Year award from the Mass Industry Committee, and the Goodnight Initiative’s Civic Artist Award. In 2021, Rob was deeply honored when the city of Boston proclaimed February 1 to be Rob “ProBlak'' Gibbs day.
Gibbs’ work has transformed Boston’s art industry. In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He served as the inaugural artist-in-residence with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and was named a Tyrone Maurice Adderly artist-in-residence by MassArt in 2022. He curated the BAMS Fest’s “Rep Your City'' exhibition and participated in the first Black Out Walls Mural festival in Detroit. Gibbs’ work has been covered in publications and media outlets like WBUR- the ARTery, WGBH, the Boston Art Review, Boston Magazine, Best of Boston, Forbes, PBS NewsHour, the Boston Globe and many others.
Gibbs’ continuing practice is expansive and prolific. He envisions graffiti and hip-hop as ways to educate young people. It is Gibbs’ role as father to his daughter, and mentor to future generations, that drives his passion for creating images of beauty and resilience through murals and contemporary fine art.
