Delaware Black History: Shine a Light art reception set Feb. 7

CAMP Rehoboth and The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice are collaborating to host Shine a Light Friday, Feb. 7, at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.

An opening art reception starting at 6 p.m. will be followed by a 7 p.m. panel discussion.

For the art exhibition, artists share work that expresses their personal interpretations and bring focus to long-silenced truths. Using light as a metaphor, this exhibition brings attention to the talents of black artists and the fullness of black humanity. Through broad brush strokes, textiles and their personal lens, exhibiting artists will share their interpretations in a multitude of mediums and bring focus to the strength, resilience, achievement and creativity of African-American artists.

Shannon Woodloe, a 2019 Delaware Division of the Arts Emerging Artist fellow, is a Wilmington-based photographer. Using photography as a tool, she aims to document her subjects beyond literal interpretation and provide the stories behind the images. Is it a gun or a cellphone? How can the two be mistaken? These are questions Woodloe asks through her art.

Theresa Angela Taylor’s artwork is inspired by social, political and cultural aspects in a rhythmic Afrocentric theory and form, through the techniques of painting and occasionally by computer graphics. She began drawing as a child. She was instructed by her father, a local artist in Harlem. Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance were influences.

Quilter Ann B. Martin shares her textiles. Women not only have kept alive the techniques handed down from grandmothers but are also introducing a new generation to this art form by displaying their quilts in art shows.

Artwork by emerging Delaware State University student artists will also be part of Shine a Light. Sophomore Taylor Gordon’s artwork is creative, energized and colorful.

Works by folk artist Nina Spencer and student artist Justin Davis are included in the exhibition as well.

Following the art reception, CAMP Rehoboth and SDARJ will host a panel discussion that reveals what it was like for African-Americans to grow up in Sussex County. Five remarkable people – Jacqueline Goodwin, Clem Jordan, Stell Parker-Selby, Ruth Palmer and Waynne Paskins – will serve as panelists to share their stories and experiences. The panel moderator is Don Peterson, chair of SDARJ’s Outreach Committee.

CAMP Rehoboth works to build safe, inclusive communities with room for all. The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice educates, informs and advocates for racial justice, equality and fair opportunity. For more information, go to www.camprehoboth.com and www.sdarj.org. 

CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is at 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach.