During its annual celebration of Black History Month, Richland College will feature an exhibit of paintings, drawings and prints on loan from the African American Museum of Dallas.
Cultural and historical items will be featured at the Brazos Gallery in Crockett Hall, presented in a stirring, thought-provoking exhibition called “Sankofa.” Sankofa, a word from Ghana, means to reclaim the past in order to move forward.
The exhibit is free and open to the general public as well as the college community.
“The primary purpose of the gallery here is a teaching gallery for students and faculty,” said John Spriggins, coordinator of the Brazos Gallery at Richland. He also serves as the interim curator for the African American Museum.
“I encourage faculty to bring their students and to teach some of the principles of what they’re doing in the classroom, such as art appreciation. I want to exhibit part of their collection and show some of the images that the museum offers,” Spriggins said.
The exhibition features self-taught folk artists like Clementine Hunter. Hunter’s paintings are known for their simple accounts of rural life in Louisiana.
Other pieces will celebrate the works of Roy Ferdinand, who used New Orleans as the centerpiece for some of his drawings. Crime scenes of the city’s toughest wards are a favorite detail for this self-taught artist.
The exhibition opens on Mon., Jan. 30, and closes Feb. 24. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. An opening reception is set from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 8.
Richland College is located at 12800 Abrams Road.
