GREATS
Cód:
491_9780692675588
For many years, I collected art from the African diaspora. My interest and passion for the arts stemmed from my childhood visits to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After retirement from academic and administrative positions at California State University, Sacramento, I expanded my interest to not only include the collection of art, but to the curation of art exhibits. In addition, I began photographing and recording the interesting lives of older African Americans. This latter interest surfaced when I became a grandmother. Almost all new grandparents become novice photographers and I was no exception.As a frequent visitor to art exhibits, I was particularly struck by the lack of older African American people exhibited in the artwork. And since I was fast becoming one of them, I added photographing senior African Americans to my interest. As part of the photography sessions, I asked each of them to share their formula for long living. This resulted in my first published book titled, Senior African Americans -They are Beautiful, Handsome and Wise (available at blurb.com). In that book it is clear that many aged well. In addition, the seniors show wisdom about aging with grace.As a result of the first book, I curated art exhibits of the photos and the associated wisdom at the California State Fair and the University Library Gallery at Sacramento State University. It was interesting and enlightening to see how young college students reacted to the age, beauty and wisdom of the seniors. Many saw the need to connect with their grandparents (if possible) and even made mention of their great-grandparents.The students’ comments inspired me to do a second project, this time with great-grandparents as my focus. During my research, I discovered Sir Sidney Poitier’s book titled, Life Beyond Measures: Letters to my Great Granddaughter. His book prompted me to ask, “What advice do African American great-grandparents give to their great-grandchildren?”
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