The Black Heritage Art Show connects people to each other and their art.
“You?re rubbing shoulders with strangers, but at a show like this, you become comrades,” visual artist Leroy Campbell said. “You become a village.”
Campbell and more than 100 other artists will exhibit their works during the Black Heritage Art Show at the Baltimore ConventionCenter from Feb. 2 to 4.
A self-taught artist from South Carolina, Campbell uses charcoal, pastels, acrylics, fabric and ink to create silhouetted, elongated figures without eyes or noses. The figures are almost faceless so many people can identify with them, he said.
Campbell?s work is surreal, yet it captures the rich African-American culture ? the dance, music and communal traditions.
Patricia Coleman-Cobb, from Atlanta will display her sculpted dolls. The figures ? made of clay, fabric and wood ? often remind people of loved ones in their life.
“It?s so unusual that a piece of fabric evokes such strong feelings and memories,” Coleman-Cobb said.
Another artist in the show, Steve Hazard, fuses glass pieces together to create multilevel, colored panels into bowls, vases and other decorative objects.
“My work is steeped in contemporary African design,” Hazard said. “I also use a lot of traditional African symbols and iconography.”
Hazard was trained in graphic design, but it was not until he met his wife that he was introduced to large collections of African art. “I was swept away by all of the patterns,” he said. “It just kind of blew my mind.”
Aside from visual art, the show features gospel, jazz and R&B music, spoken-word poets and life-empowering workshops, show spokeswoman Belinda Merritt said.
The Black Heritage Art Show started in 1995 as a small community program to promote the work of black artists and is now the largest black arts event held in the Mid-Atlantic during Black History Month. A portion of the show?s proceeds will benefit the African American Visual Arts Association, which awards scholarships to students pursuing an art career.
12th Annual Black Heritage Art Show
» Where: Baltimore Convention Center
» When: Feb. 2 to 4, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
» Cost: $5 per person, Children under 12 free
For more information: 410-521-0660, www.blackheritageartshow.com
