South Shore Arts to Present "Art of the African Diaspora"
Daniel Texidor Parker, a Chicago resident living in Hyde Park, has spent more than 30 years acquiring over 450 masterpieces by people of color—people whose common origin is African and who have dispersed throughout the world. His collection includes paintings, sculptures, reliefs, ceramics, photographs, prints and drawings. The collection includes work that dates back over 1,000 years B.C., as well as artwork created by contemporary African-American artists living in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The South Shore Arts exhibit of Parker’s collection will be presented February 3 through March 16, 2008, and will be supplemented by artwork from the André Guichard Gallery of Bronzeville.
Daniel Parker attributes his passion for collecting artwork from the Diaspora to his mother, as well as
Dr. Margaret Burroughs, the founder of Chicago’s DuSable Museum of African-American History and a renowned artist herself. As a small boy, Parker and his mother, Annie Lee Parker, would visit second-hand stores where she would purchase European and Asian art. In high school, Parker’s art teacher was Dr. Burroughs. She taught him about his African-American roots. The trips with his mother combined with the knowledge given him by Dr. Burroughs sparked his passion for the art and culture of his people.
Mr. Parker has traveled the world with an empty bag and few clothes so that he could add pieces to his collection along the way. The collection includes art from Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Bahamas, Senegal, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana and numerous other stops. Although his travels have provided him with many treasures, he places as much value on the work he finds close to home. Several Hyde Park artists such as Dayo Laoye, Julian Williams, Jason Jones, Dale Washington and Rhonda Wheatley are represented in Parker’s collection. As Parker says, “I feel privileged to have all of these artists around me.”
Mr. Parker’s collection is featured in the hard-bound book, "African Art, The Diaspora and Beyond," copies of which will be available for purchase throughout the exhibit in the South Shore Arts Gift Shop.
Daniel Parker will present a lecture on his collection during the public reception held on Sunday, February 10, 2008, from 1-3pm.
Jazz in the Afternoon
Coinciding with the South Shore Arts exhibition "Art of the African Diaspora," the Friends of Emerson, a community-based non-profit organization that supports the artistic and educational goals of the Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Gary, Indiana, will bring Gary-based jazz legend Arthur Hoyle and his quintet to the Center for Visual and Performing Arts on Sunday, February 10, from 2-5 p.m., for “Jazz in the Afternoon.”
The event will feature the Emerson Jazz Ensemble, along with the Art Hoyle Quintet, in public performances that will coincide with “Art of the Diaspora.” Mr. Hoyle has worked with Lionel Hampton, Quincy Jones, Nelson Riddle, Tony Bennett, Billy Eckstine and Henry Mancini. He has backed featured soloists Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Lena Horne and is a member of the CBS Staff Orchestra in Chicago.
“Jazz in the Afternoon” will include complimentary champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Reservations are $35 and can be made through the South Shore Arts office, 219/836.1839, ext. 100.
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