Artist Barbara Earl Thomas holds hands with the past and the future
The artist Barbara Earl Thomas has made a promise: to keep the artistic legacy of her mentor Jacob Lawrence alive and growing.
Barbara met the Black modernist painter Jacob Lawrence as his student at the University of Washington in the 1970s. As her career and artistry developed, so did her friendship with Jacob and his wife Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, who’ve now both died.
Last fall Barbara contributed four of her own portraits of Jacob to accompany his debut in the Netherlands–his first solo show in Europe. The exhibit, and being there at the opening, were part of her promise. Barbara enlisted the help of her friend, the arts journalist and cultural strategist Leilani Lewis–to go on the trip, and to be part of stewarding Jacob and Gwendolyn’s artistic legacies. In this episode of Meet Me Here, Leilani and Barbara are in conversation about their trip, friendship, and art.
Leilani Lewis’ article: The Barbara Earl Thomas’s High-Frequency Art Method
Leilani Lewis’ article: As the US Slides Into Tyranny, Europe Champions Black American Artists
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MoMA profile of Jacob Lawrence
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Jeannie Yandel
Special Projects Editor
Jeannie Yandel is a special projects editor focusing on podcasts and broadcast shows. She created and co-hosted the KUOW podcast Battle Tactics For Your Sexist Workplace and ran and edited KUOW's podcast about local curiosity, SoundQs. She also co-created and co-hosted KUOW's YouTube interview series, Are We Going To Be OK?. Previously, she was senior producer for The Conversation and KUOW Presents, and was Executive Producer for The Record.
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Kyle Norris
Producer
Kyle Norris is a producer who contributes to KUOW’s daily show, SoundSide. He also reports for NPR’s arts and culture desk and “Life Kit” podcast.
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Phyllis Fletcher
Editor
Phyllis Fletcher edits stories and shows at KUOW. Her previous work has reached audiences across the Northwest and around the world through NPR and its stations, American Public Media, The New York Times, Wondery, and Springer academic press. The Public Media Journalists Association named Phyllis its inaugural Editor of the Year, and the University of Washington inducted Phyllis into its Communication Department Hall of Fame.
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