SHOP THE OTHER ART FAIR COLLECTION
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Couldn’t join us for last week’s The Other Art Fair? Visit Pigment International’s on-line site to get some truly unique items from our artists. The collective presented artists Thomas Lockhart, Kristen Williams, Krystal Boney, Gary Gee, Ladipo Famodu, Reggie McFly, Candace Hunter, and D. Lamar Preston.
From wire and rusted steel sculpture to ceramics, multi-media works and photography. See the video from the show here.
Want to learn more about the Pigmented Black Fine Art Faire coming this October? Take our survey here.
PIGMENTED HONORARY COMMITTEE KICK-OFF
Pigment International™ is proud to announce the Honorary Committee for the Pigmented Black Fine Art Faire set for October’s Black Fine Art Month™. The Honorary Committee will shepherd this first Black run art fair held in Chicago in decades. and the organization is inviting galleries from across the country to participate. Dates and venues are to be announced.
Honorary Committee members include Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Daryl and Verlena Newell, Patricia and Stephen Blessman (Blessman Family Fund), Thomas Lucas (Chicago State University), Rufus Williams (WVON), Oscar & Tammi Bedolla (Flourish Arts Accelerator), George Cristo-Baker, Angela Ford (Obsidian), D.E. Simmons (Diasporal Rhythms), Paula Robinson (Bronzeville Community Development Partnership), Lisa Duncan (Adler University), Kaila Austin (Public Historian and Community Activist), Curator Diane Dinkins Carr, Dan Parker (Diasporal Rhythms), Dilla the Historian, Danny Dunson (DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center), Sandra Rand, Georgina Heard, Rodney Herenton, Vicki Heyman, Anita Mauro (Chicago Sculpture Society), Clarence Carson, and media personality Dometi Pongo.
Here are some pics from our Pigmented Black Fine Art Faire kick-off event at the home of Daryl and Verlena Newell. Learn more about Pigmented here. You may learn more about the Faire and share how you’d like to be involved by completing this survey.
WORDS I’VE NEVER SAID, A NEW KIND OF ART EXHIBITION AT CONNECT GALLERY OPENS APRIL 18TH
Anthony Bartley, aka FadingRoyalty, is proud to announce the opening of his solo art exhibition, Words I’ve Never Said: A Community Healing and Art Exhibition, at Connect Gallery, April 18th to May 23rd. The exhibition explores themes of grief, love, acceptance, and mental health challenges through a nostalgic and approachable lens.
This exhibition marks Bartley’s first ever solo exhibition yet is far from a solo affair. Words I’ve Never Said invites viewers to experience an art exhibition as a community affair. Guests will be encouraged to directly respond to each work on display and interact with the space in a greater capacity than we normally see in art spaces. Throughout the five-week exhibition, Bartley has invited close collaborators into the exhibition space to facilitate community programming in response to his work. Ranging from clothing drives and sewing workshops to community gaming nights, a welcoming space for people of all interests and comfort levels in the arts community is being created.
TRAGEDY HITS ATLANTA ARTIST FREDDIE STYLES
Freddie Styles, one of Atlanta’s and the country’s most revered visual artists, lost his home and all his artwork, personal collection, antiques, memorabilia and belongings in a fire on February 28.
He has spent nearly nine decades honing his craft and leaving an indelible mark on the city’s cultural landscape. Styles has witnessed the transformation of Atlanta and has channeled that evolution into his vibrant, expressive paintings. For over 60 years he has been a leading figure in the city’s art community, participating in countless local exhibitions and collaborating with other prominent artists in the region.
The community has rallied around him, including gallerist September Gray, of September Gray Fine Art, and a Go Fund Me campaign is still under way. The fund is to help Styles to get started with shelter, clothing, and other essentials of daily life. The campaign has raised just over $30,000 and a “Friends of Freddie” Steering Committee has been formed to create a permanent housing solution for him.
THE SOCIETY INCORPORATED HOSTED 20TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF UPLIFTING YOUTH IN THE ARTS
By Vee L. Harrison
Nearly 300 Black women from 35 different states gathered in Chicago this past week to celebrate 42 years of sisterhood, philanthropy and art. The Society Incorporated is a non-profit national organization of women dedicated to enhancing, exposing, and promoting youth in the arts for the betterment of our communities. The organization is bonded in friendship and service to encourage and support youth who are talented in the arts, with a focus on under-served children.
Chicago is home to one of the organization’s largest and oldest chapters. During the conference the group visited the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, South Side Arts Community Center and visited the Women’s Live Art Studio (WLAS) at Navy Pier.
Valerie Cooper, the current National Archivist for The Society, Incorporated and founder of Picture That Consultants is also the founder of H-DAP, an initiative working to digitize the art collections of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Among her many clients is the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM).
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