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Ceremony to Honor Black Artists’ Cultural Contributions

Leo Twiggs, Dreamers, 2018

This February, in conjunction with exhibitions displaying works by African American artists, the Georgia Museum of Art will host its annual Black History Month Dinner and Awards Celebration. The event is held to present two accolades: the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award, which honors living African American artists with a connection to Georgia, and the Lillian C. Lynch Citation, given to a contributor and leader in African American cultural education and service.

Dr. Leo Twiggs is the 2019 recipient of the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award. A visual artist born in South Carolina, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Claflin University and a master’s degree from New York University. He then moved on to make history and become the first black student to receive a doctoral degree in art education from the University of Georgia. Later, he would develop and chair the art department at South Carolina State University, a position he held until 1998.

With an exceptional mastery of batik, an artistic technique that uses wax, cloth and dye to make shapes and patterns, he was the first visual artist to receive the Verner Award for the Arts for outstanding contributions in South Carolina. His works have covered topics concerning the significance and history of the Confederate flag in the South, the devastation of hurricanes upon the Carolinas and more.

“You know, we are here for only a short period of time,” said Twiggs. “We start aging from the moment we are born until we die and I think that batik, because of its crackle and all of that kind of suggests that aging quality. It also expresses, in my opinion, a kind of dinginess . . . for African Americans who live in substandard houses, we kept [belongings] for a long time because we couldn’t afford to get new things.”

Lemuel “Life” LaRoche will receive the Lilian C. Lynch Citation and has been deeply nestled into the Athens community since around 2000. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Laroche moved to Macon, Georgia, in high school and attended Gordon State College before transferring to the University of Georgia School of Social Work in 1999.

LaRoche is the founder and executive director of Chess and Community, a nonprofit focused on using the game of chess to develop leadership skills and give support to Athens youth. He is also an instructor at the School of Social Work, a poet, an author and a motivational speaker touring far outside of Athens to inspire people everywhere.

“We have to keep giving. . . . Sometimes that’s all somebody needs,” said LaRoche. “Just somebody to come and say the right thing at the right time that can influence them and change the entire trajectory of how to see themselves and how they see the world.”

The Black History Month Awards and Dinner will be held on February 22, 2019. Artists and curators will also be in attendance to lead guests through an exploration of African American heritage through art.

Visit bit.ly/gmoa-bhma19 to sponsor and receive guaranteed tickets. Individual tickets for members are available now for $60. Tickets, if not sold out, will be available to nonmembers February 1 for $80. Call 706.542.4199 for additional ticket inquiries.

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Maycee Dukes

Intern, Department of Communications

Third Thursday Scheduled for January 17 around Athens

Yoga in the Galleries at the Georgia Museum of Art

The next Third Thursday — the monthly evening of art in Athens, Georgia — is scheduled for Thursday, January 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

This Third Thursday will offer one event in addition to the exhibitions. None of the venues will be closed.

Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia

Yoga in the Galleries, 6 p.m. — Join us for a yoga class surrounded by works of art in the galleries. Led by instructors from Five Points Yoga, this program is free and open to both beginner and experienced yogis. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis; tickets are available at the front desk starting at 5:15 p.m. Yoga mats provided.

On view:

“The Reluctant Autocrat: Tsar Nicholas II” — This exhibition focuses on the reigns of the last two Romanov rulers: Alexander III (1881–1894) and his son and successor Nicholas II (1894–1917).

“Out of the Darkness: Light in the Depths of the Sea of Cortez” — Artist Rebecca Rutstein uses UGA marine sciences professor Samantha Joye’s research to create an interactive sculptural installation and several large paintings. 

“Richard Hunt: Synthesis” — This exhibition will focus on formative periods in the career of American sculptor Richard Hunt. 

“One Heart, One Way: The Journey of a Princely Art Collection” — Russian fine and decorative arts dating from ca. 1660 to 1952 from the family of the Russian Princes Belosselsky-Belozersky.

Permanent Collection — Thirteen galleries house a large portion of the Georgia Museum of Art’s collection, including many of the 100 American paintings that made up Alfred Heber Holbrook’s founding gift.

Lamar Dodd School of Art Galleries, University of Georgia

“La Mostra: Cortona 2018” — La Mostra, or The Show is a continuation of a 49-year-old tradition exhibiting artwork produced by students and faculty during their sojourn at UGA’s residential center in Cortona, Italy. Works produced by Cortona program participants during spring, summer and fall programs of 2018 will be displayed at the third floor of the Dodd Galleries. 

Lyndon House Arts Center

"Sitting with the Elders: Stories of Black Athenians,” an exhibition by Broderick Flanigan — When an elder dies, it’s as if a library has been burned to the ground. The stories, the voices, the history, the places and the legacy that were held inside all disappear. “Sitting with the Elders” uses art and story to capture the spirit of voices long gone and to amplify the voices of those still among us whose lessons we need today. The exhibition preserves a legacy that is vanishing, and it reminds readers of the messy, challenging, difficult obstacles in life we face in order to become thoughtful and engaged citizens of our communities and country. 

“Antoine Stewart” — Painting show in the Lounge Gallery.

ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art

“ATHICA’s Annual Members’ Showcase” — Featuring the work of ATHICA’s membership, which has helped to sustain the all-volunteer organization for over 18 years. Open 4 – 9 p.m.

Ciné

“Cameron Lyden: The Wave Tamer’s Lullaby and Other Artifacts” — Cameron Lyden is an Athens-based artist who uses his work to construct a narrative for the viewer by creating fictional tools with ambiguous and fantastical functions. It is his goal to offer the viewer an opportunity to feel a sense of childlike wonder as they explore the faux history of these objects. 

Hotel Indigo, Athens

“Solar System (dad, you came to earth a long time ago)” — A new installation by Trevor Reese at the GlassCube. Known for his room-filling sculptural works, Reese has turned the GlassCube into a hospitality suite of miscellaneous furnishings ready to take off into outer limits. Conventional objects, ladders, chairs, stools and tables, stacked in an orderly fashion, each have their own personal multi-colored stylish disco ball. A hodge-podge of mirrors, mined from friends’ basements and collected from thrift stores, reflect the environment day and night. Working within a practice of exposing what is usually hidden, Reese’s installation is as if you have opening your storage shed and found a space age dance party. 

“Color & Comp” — Just in time for the start of school, “Color & Comp” includes artists playing with form, placement, hue, shade and pigment. Featured are shaped canvasses by Jason Matherly, the wonderful Lego compositions by Mike Landers, Shawn Campbell’s photo works of isolated football players on a field of gold, Jaime Keiter’s “Memphis”-inspired ceramic wall pieces,James Wilson’s paper collages and In Kyoung Chun, plexiglass domestic scenes.

The Classic Center

“Stitch” — A brand new, colorful, texture-filled exhibition of contemporary quilts is on view in Classic Gallery I. Featuring the smoky industrial-scapes of Elizabeth Barton, the obsessive geometric precision of Barbette Houser, the vibrant sewn gardens of Cleo Ward, the magic and mischief of Danielle Lasker and the meditative devotion of Anne Marie Vencill.

“Jaquelynn Faass” — A solo exhibition in Classic Gallery II of close-up, detailed portraiture.

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Third Thursday was established in 2012 to encourage attendance at Athens’ established art venues through coordination and co-promotion by the organizing entities. Rack cards promoting Third Thursday and visual art in Athens are available upon request. This schedule and venue locations and regular hours can be found at 3thurs.org.

Contact: Michael Lachowski, Georgia Museum of Art, mlachow@uga.edu.