Aurora Public Art opens show this week honoring three Aurora African American artists - Chicago Tribune

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Aurora Public Art’s latest exhibit opening Friday will honor three Aurora African American artists.

The exhibit, “Donnell Collins, Perry Slade, Dr. Charles Smith” will open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, on the third floor of the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place, during the Aurora Downtown group’s First Fridays event.

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The city’s formal gallery will be honoring the artwork of well-established Aurora photographers Donnell Collins and Perry Slade, as well as exhibiting Aurora Public Art’s permanent collection of sculptures by folk artist Dr. Charles Smith.

The exhibit will be on display from Feb. 3 through March 18.

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Live R&B and neo-soul band Melodic will perform between 7 and 8 p.m. on March 3 at the exhibit, and an artist discussion will be held at 2 p.m. March 18, officials said.

Admission is free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

“While each viewer has their own interpretation of artworks, based on their individual experiences, it is clear that each of these bodies of work, created by such long-respected artists, have so much wisdom to find within them,” said Jenn Byrne, Aurora Public Art executive director, in a press release about the upcoming exhibit.

Collins, a resident of Aurora since 1958, worked as a photographer for The Beacon-News from 1987 to 2007 and is well known in the community, having photographed many events and done many portraits of Aurorans, event organizers said.

Recently retired from photojournalism, he is now focusing on his fine art photography and teaching youth about film photography and darkroom processing, according to the release.

Slade, originally from Newark, N.J., came to Aurora in 1979. A photographer since his 20s, Slade’s body of work includes landscapes, urban landscapes and conceptual narratives, mostly in black and white, event organizers said.

He uses photography to tell stories, most often drawn from observations that he has found striking and poignant, according to the release. Perry’s works have been represented as a juried artist at Water Street Studio in Batavia, Tall Grass Arts Association in Park Forest and the Naperville Art League in Naperville.

Smith came to Aurora after serving in the Vietnam War, and began to create over 600 sculptures using concrete, found items and other materials, referencing both well-known and obscure events in African American history, according to the release.

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The collection of works, placed around his home in Aurora, became the African American Heritage Museum. In 2001 he moved to Hammond, Louisiana, where he has created a similar number of new works.

Now regarded as one of the most important folk artists in the United States, approximately 500 of his sculptures have been preserved and placed in 19 institutions, including the collections of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Houston Museum, African-American Heritage Museum, Joslyn Art Museum, Intuit, National Vietnam Museum and the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture, the release stated.

Aurora Public Art is sponsored by the city of Aurora.

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Aurora Public Art opens show this week honoring three Aurora African American artists - Chicago Tribune
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