Dear Alumni Association,
It's been 36 years since I graduated from Livingston College - ('73) - I was so fortunate to have professors who were working (and successful!) artists, including Leon Golub (painting teacher) and Mel Edwards (sculpture) among others. I organized "Women as Artists, Artists as Women" in the Livingston University art gallery - a time when the Feminist Art Movement was happening. Names and photos attached....I've kept the newspaper clipping all these years - hope you can find a way to incorporate it into our legacy notes!
I veered from studio art to art history and currently hold the position of Curator for Education at the National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. My early college years at Livingston provided me with a network of artists, scholars, art historians, and others who launched me into the NY art world and beyond. After graduating, I spent 10 years working in the NY art world at: Pace Gallery, Marlborough Gallery, and Phillips Auctioneers before moving to Chicago where I taught African Art History at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). I later ran into Leon Golub at several museum openings, including his one-man exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. I remember him as an inspiration and also very kind - especially since my talents as a painter were limited! My classes in studio art were a great foundation for materials and techniques, and I put the knowlege to good use today as I program the art workshops at the museum. My first art history course was titled, Primitive Art, taught by George Preston and Adele Starensier. It sparked my interest in African art and later when I found unique opportunities for field research in Nigeria and Kenya. I hope to see POTUS Barack and Michelle Obama with the girls in one of my workshops at the museum soon!
Please keep me posted.
Best regards,
Deborah Stokes
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