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Mama Can Sing by Faith Ringgold
The inaugural exhibit of the new EPI/Riley Temple Gallery in the Portlock Black Cultural Center will feature works by celebrated painter, author, and illustrator Faith Ringgold and other women artists from March 4 through April 8. The exhibit is part of the College’s celebration of Women’s History Month.
The gallery is named for distinguished alumnus and trustee emeritus Riley K. Temple ’71 and represents a partnership between Lafayette’s Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) and the Office of Intercultural Development. The gallery will feature the work of artists from historically underrepresented groups and will work to foster greater diversity in academic and co-curricular programming. Works by Lafayette art students will also be featured throughout the year.
A dedication ceremony and reception will be held at the gallery from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, and will include comments from Temple. Located at on the first floor of the Portlock Center at 101 McCartney St., the gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Ringgold has received more than 75 awards for her work, which is in the permanent collections of many museums, including New York City’s Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.
She has also written and illustrated 11 children’s books, including Tar Beach, which was a Caldecott Honor Book and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration. A professor emerita from the University of Californian, San Diego, Ringgold served as an EPI artist-in-residence and was awarded an honorary degree in 2007.
Other women artists featured in the exhibit include Dawn Decosta, Robin Miller, Anna Stoa, Marva Whitehead, Grace Matthews, and Linda Freeman.
Temple is a partner in a prominent Washington, D.C. law firm and is a strong supporter of the arts. In 2000, he established the David L. Sr. and Helen J. Temple Visiting Artist Fund at Lafayette in honor of his parents, which is committed to the support and encouragement of the work of artists, curators, and art historians.
EPI has printed several pieces of Ringgold’s work. Since its inception in 1996, EPI has introduced students to more than 80 artists from diverse backgrounds and countries. It works to promote research and experimentation with the print medium.