2007-2008 HERITAGE CENTER VISITING EXHIBITIONS
SOUTH APOPKA
A Community Portrait
By Photographer Bob Michaels
May 2-July 26, 2008
South Apopka, with its deep roots to the past, is characterized by remaining almost entirely African-American. This exhibition features portraits and social landscapes of this unique Central Florida community by Crealdé alumni Bob Michaels. The exhibition was curated by Peter Schreyer, one of his instructors and mentors. Some of these photographs were exhibited at the Apopka History Museum during Black History Month in 2007. "South Apopka represents the African-American community that bounds my home, the City of Apopka, Florida. This area has a long history, rich cultural heritage, a real sense of community, and some extraordinary people. It is a traditional small town (of the sort that has passed away in the modern era) where everyone seems to know everyone else. South Apopka is unique among rapidly expanding Central Florida in having almost no population turnover. Most of the residents were born there, including a number of third- and fourth-generation natives. It is common to hear several people recalling events that happened over fifty years ago but where everyone was present. It is truly a throwback to an old time when the population of central Florida was a very small fraction of what it is today." -Bob Michaels
South Apopka, with its deep roots to the past, is characterized by remaining almost entirely African-American. This exhibition features portraits and social landscapes of this unique Central Florida community by Crealdé alumni Bob Michaels. The exhibition was curated by Peter Schreyer, one of his instructors and mentors. Some of these photographs were exhibited at the Apopka History Museum during Black History Month in 2007. "South Apopka represents the African-American community that bounds my home, the City of Apopka, Florida. This area has a long history, rich cultural heritage, a real sense of community, and some extraordinary people. It is a traditional small town (of the sort that has passed away in the modern era) where everyone seems to know everyone else. South Apopka is unique among rapidly expanding Central Florida in having almost no population turnover. Most of the residents were born there, including a number of third- and fourth-generation natives. It is common to hear several people recalling events that happened over fifty years ago but where everyone was present. It is truly a throwback to an old time when the population of central Florida was a very small fraction of what it is today." -Bob Michaels
A HANNIBAL SQUARE PORTRAIT
Plein-Air Painting by Tom Sadler & Students
Above image: Yellow House by Claudia Backes, part of the permanent collection of the Heritage Center.
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March 13 – June 28, 2008
During the inaugural session of classes at the new Hannibal Square Heritage Center in the fall of 2008, Crealdé associate faculty member Tom Sadler and his plein-air painting students captured moments in time on Hannibal Square. The class focused on paintings of the historic area and its mix of the old and new. Some of the old churches are featured in several of the works while others focus in on the shops in the square itself. Works in this exhibition also include the old houses in the area, which sometimes incorporate a new building under construction in the background. The Hannibal Square area is undergoing extensive transition and this change is portrayed sometimes dramatically, and in other cases more subtly, through paint on canvas. Curated by Tom Sadler. |
Commentaries:
“The Urban Landscape Painting class set out to capture the essence of the area ‘west of the tracks’ in Winter Park, which is an area in transition. Plein-air and studio work were combined in the effort to portray on canvas what the students found interesting to the eye. Old churches under raking light, colorful store fronts around Hannibal Square, and older homes with the evidence of new construction looming in the background … all were fair game. One student learned ‘that the people who live in the Hannibal Square neighborhood are some of the most genuine people in the world’ and that painting the area ‘very likely changed my life.’”
—Tom Sadler, Associate Faculty, Crealdé School of Art, March 14, 2008
“The class of painters immediately bought into the subject and immersed themselves in the tranquil scenes and beautiful fall light of the Hannibal Square community, without ignoring the sometimes unsettling transitional quality of the cultural and social landscape of the neighborhood. I was impressed how the artists captured much of the beautiful community mood I had loved about Hannibal Square for many years. To my knowledge, the presented body of work represents the first serious attempt to portray this historic community in paintings. The colorful and heartfelt studies add a beautiful contrast to the Heritage Collection of black and white photographs and oral histories contributed by the residents themselves for permanent display at the center.
—Peter Schreyer, Executive Director, Crealdé School of Art, Spring, 2008
“The Urban Landscape Painting class set out to capture the essence of the area ‘west of the tracks’ in Winter Park, which is an area in transition. Plein-air and studio work were combined in the effort to portray on canvas what the students found interesting to the eye. Old churches under raking light, colorful store fronts around Hannibal Square, and older homes with the evidence of new construction looming in the background … all were fair game. One student learned ‘that the people who live in the Hannibal Square neighborhood are some of the most genuine people in the world’ and that painting the area ‘very likely changed my life.’”
—Tom Sadler, Associate Faculty, Crealdé School of Art, March 14, 2008
“The class of painters immediately bought into the subject and immersed themselves in the tranquil scenes and beautiful fall light of the Hannibal Square community, without ignoring the sometimes unsettling transitional quality of the cultural and social landscape of the neighborhood. I was impressed how the artists captured much of the beautiful community mood I had loved about Hannibal Square for many years. To my knowledge, the presented body of work represents the first serious attempt to portray this historic community in paintings. The colorful and heartfelt studies add a beautiful contrast to the Heritage Collection of black and white photographs and oral histories contributed by the residents themselves for permanent display at the center.
—Peter Schreyer, Executive Director, Crealdé School of Art, Spring, 2008
THE WORLD OF MR. IMAGINATION
Two-Venue Exhibition
Photograph by Peter Schreyer
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January 18 – March 1, 2008
This exhibition was presented at both the Alice & William Jenkins Gallery at Crealdé and the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Gallery. As a tribute to Black History Month, the Smithsonian-collected, Pennsylvania-based artist returned for a major exhibition of his sculptures, constructions and installations. Presented in partnership with Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, The Golden Rule Foundation, and the City of Winter Park. Mr. Imagination (born Gregory Warmack) took a new name when he survived a near-fatal shooting in 1978. His brush with death inspired him to craft a spiritual renaissance in his creations—an awakening which now propels his art toward a declaration of faith and a sense of pride and dignity in his heritage and personal history. |
His art can be found at the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, and the House of Blues in both Chicago and Orlando.
During a two-week residency at the Heritage Center, Mr. Imagination worked with assistant Lynn Tomlinson (Crealdé artist and Director of the 2007 Community Pride Mosaic Mural across the street at the community center) to lead community members, artists, and area school children in the creation of a Memory Wall public art sculpture installation in front of the Heritage Center. The collaborative public art effort—a Golden Rule Community Project—was initiated as part of the Unity Heritage Festival in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Day. The Memory Wall was unveiled at the Heritage Center during a special reception for guests from the 19th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville. The Mr. Imagination residency and Memory Wall project was presented by Crealdé School of Art in partnership with the Golden Rule Foundation, Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, and the City of Winter Park
During a two-week residency at the Heritage Center, Mr. Imagination worked with assistant Lynn Tomlinson (Crealdé artist and Director of the 2007 Community Pride Mosaic Mural across the street at the community center) to lead community members, artists, and area school children in the creation of a Memory Wall public art sculpture installation in front of the Heritage Center. The collaborative public art effort—a Golden Rule Community Project—was initiated as part of the Unity Heritage Festival in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Day. The Memory Wall was unveiled at the Heritage Center during a special reception for guests from the 19th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville. The Mr. Imagination residency and Memory Wall project was presented by Crealdé School of Art in partnership with the Golden Rule Foundation, Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, and the City of Winter Park
WINTER PARK COLLECTS FOLK ART
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October 13—December 23, 2007
Presented in partnership with the Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery, the exhibit featured f African-American folk art collections from local residents. The exhibition was launched with a Gala fundraiser, including live music by the First World Drummers and Dancers outside, and jazz and blues singer Ruth King inside the Heritage Center and proceeds from this event went to support the Heritage Center’s mission to celebrate the past, present, and future contributions of Winter Park’s west side community. |
RUBY C. WILLIAMS
Folk Artist
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Ruby Williams grew up in Bealsville, Florida—a community formed by her ancestors, freed slaves in the 1860s. It is these roots that form the stage for Ruby’s produce stand and “walk in” gallery on State Road 60. Ruby Williams’ art career began when a passer-by noticed her brightly painted signs advertising her fruits and vegetables. With coaxing from him and others, this spiritual businesswoman, minister and grandmother embarked on the journey that has led her into classrooms, galleries and museums in Florida, as well as nationally.
Recently Williams illustrated a charming children’s book titled, I Am Ruby. “I’ve been ministering since I was a kid ... I do everything from the bottom of my heart, whether shelling a bucket of beans or making a painting.” Her brightly colored paintings speak her messages loudly and clearly. “... I like when people look at it and smile.” Ruby Williams was recently honored with a Florida Folk Life Award in Tallahassee and was included in the show, “On Their Own — Selected Self-taught Artists,” at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. |
