“ELDER ARTISTS IN THE HOOD”…
we discover and honor elder artists in our community
Cover of the booklet, you can get it at the WHTArtGallery!
We proudly present the results of our
The ELDER ARTISTS IN THE HOOD workshop project
in Columbus Bicentennial.
We have chosen ten elder artists of our hood/ our village to highlight and honor them in a booklet and on banners: Barbara Chavous, Bintu Olaniyi, Michele Hoff West, Queen Brooks, Ed Colston, Grandpa Smoky Brown, Larry Winston Collins, Omar Shaheed, Pheoris West, and Richard Duarte Brown.
The first installment of our featured “Elder Artist” was at the 6th annual African Village Arts Festival in August 2012. Now the banners are on display at the Metropolitan Library on Grant St in Columbus.
Since 1978 the Urban Cultural Arts Foundation and the William H. Thomas Art Gallery have been a catalyst for development in the Near East side area, with a special focus on the arts. Many local artists get support from the UCAF in form of professional exhibits and promotion. Some of the most innovative and active African American Artists in Columbus, credit the WHTAG with recognizing their talents and encouraging their careers. UCAF has brought art and artists from across the country and as far away as Africa and Europe into our neighborhood.
The UCAF has a particular interest and history of encouraging, appreciating and presenting the works of older artists from the community. The Elder Artists in the Hood project focus on Columbus Bicentennial provided the opportunity to examine identity and gain perspective through the Elders that shaped the community and the city. We had a great workshop over the two months!
Conceived as part of an ongoing documentary about the artists exhibited in the William H. Thomas Art Gallery, the initial focus for this project shifted. An in-depth review of the creative contributors to our neighborhood revealed the very special status of several of them, namely as forerunners, leaders, and guides. By virtue of their art and standing in this community, their impact goes beyond the momentary contact with their work during a curate show. To be sure, they are Elders not necessarily by virtue of their age or experience. Rather, it is the way in which they translate their experience into their art, how they view themselves in relation to their surroundings and how their creative drive provides for the pulse of their neighborhood. Their sense of connectivity to their community allowed for a sense of continuity in the community. In turn, reverence was born for these artist peers and their interpretation of change.
The more we learned from and about these Elders, the more we learned about ourselves and the importance of connectivity and continuity in a vibrant village like ours. Even the energizing and dynamic process of meeting with a number of people to discuss the project, to collect and research artists from our community, led to a growth experience and connectivity for all of us.
As a result of our work booklets and banners will be displayed in a travelling show, we will connect not only with our community but in larger venues.
In the future we will highlight other artists who have added so much to the artistic threads that weave a community.
PLEASE CALL THE GALLERY IF YOU WANT TO SHOW THE BANNERS: 614 252 7525
Sabine Lampe, Project leader Elder Artists in the Hood
here are some of our banners:
The ELDER ARTISTS IN THE HOOD Project is made possible through the generous contributions of several organizations in support of the Neighborhood Partnership Grants Program: Columbus Foundation, United Way of Central Ohio, PNC, and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and of the 200Columbus Chase Neighborhood Grant, Chase and the Greater Columbus Arts Council
We say thank you to our sponsors!
Please check this newsletter story:
pages of the booklet
