Not an Ocean Between Us: Voices of Women from Africa and the African Diaspora
May 30, 2006 – March 17, 2007

Zoe Charlton's presentation will challenge viewers to look at art from alternative perspectives. The western art historical canon, widely used to determine the value of art, has its roots in European tradition. In art departments all over the United States, critiques are commonly based on formalism, the Western canon, or discussions are about the artist's mimetic or expressive abilities. Although important and indispensable, these approaches disregard cultural and social ways to discuss art. Ms. Charlton’s lecture will help create a new reference for the critical discussion of artwork. Five of her recent works are on view in the exhibit at Diggs Gallery.

Charlton earned her M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Texas in Austin and is currently a Professor of Art at American University in Washington, D.C. Charlton’s work, on view in the exhibit, explores the politics of race, gender and class, as well as the historical events that continue to inform these issues today.

Not an Ocean Between Us: Voices of Women from Africa and the African Diaspora offers a glimpse into the global black female identity through the work of Black women artists from around the world. While women of Africa and the African Diaspora are separated by geographic, socio-economic and cultural disparities, as women, they share more similarities than differences.  The works on view explore a wide variety of issues common to all black women, such as race, gender and identity.

Artists included in the exhibit are: Camille Billops (U.S.), Zoë Charlton (U.S.), Magdalena Campos-Pons (Cuba), Chandra Cox (U.S.), Raki Dianka (Senegal), Mona El-Bayoumi (Egypt), Nagla Ezzat (Egypt), Peju Layiwola (Nigeria), T. Lukhele (Tanzania), Mary Moeng (South Africa), Alison Saar (U.S.), Lorna Simpson (U.S.), Sira Sissoko (Mali), Shinique Smith (U.S.), Eunice Wadu (Kenya), Kara Walker (U.S.), Joyce Wellman (U.S.) and more…

The women in this exhibit have the unique ability to intertwine the relationship between the human condition, imagination, consciousness and vision.  They strive to liberate the world of limiting conditions and beliefs affecting women while striving to gain control over their own image.  Collectively, they create greater awareness of the issues many women face and spark a dialogue that lends itself to increased access to a more prosperous economic, political, social and spiritual future for all women

Not an Ocean Between Us examines the state of society from the perspective of the Black woman, seeking to depict the courage and collective power that black women globally have harnessed through their art - their ultimate voice in the world.
 

The Legacy of Gordon Hanes and James Thackeray Diggs

October 1, 2005 - December 17, 2005

Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University will celebrate its 15^th Anniversary with the exhibits, James Thackeray Diggs: A Life of Art and James Gordon Hanes: A Legacy of Giving, on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. The exhibits feature selected works from the permanent collection of the gallery as donated by the renowned philanthropist Gordon Hanes and artwork by Professor James T. Diggs, for whom the gallery is named.  Gordon Hanes had long envisioned an African  American  art  museum and named it for his friend, Professor Diggs.

James Gordon Hanes, Jr. was born on March 3, 1916 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to James Gordon Hanes Sr. and Emmie Drewry Hanes.  His family was well-established in the Winston-Salem community.  His father was the founder, president and chairman of the Board of the Hanes Hosiery Co. and its successor, Hanes Corp.  Gordon Hanes, Jr. graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1933, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 from Yale University.  He went on to study Business Administration at Pace College and graduated in 1939.  He married Helen Greever Copenhaver on August 30, 1941 and had three children, James Gordon Hanes, III, Eldridge C. Hanes, and Margaret Drewry Hanes.  His interest in art brought him to James Thackery Diggs, Jr. and a friendship was born which remained strong until Professor Diggs death in 1989.  Gordon Hanes remembered that friendship in the creation of Diggs Gallery in 1989.  The gallery first opened its doors to the public on October 2, 1990.

From the permanent collection of works donated to Diggs Gallery by Gordon Hanes, this unique selection will include etchings and lithographs by 39 internationally known artists and printmakers such as John Taylor Arms, Hans Sebald Beham, William Blake, Auguste Brouet,  Honore Daumier, Eugene Delarcroix, William Scott, John R. Souter, Jan van de Velde, James McNiel Whistler, Tom Hammond, Ferdinand Leger, Juan Miro, Robert Rauchenberg, Jacques Lipshitz, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Robert Mangold, Vijay Cemins, Guilliaume Azoulay, Robert Motherwill and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as many others. These are only part of the permanent collection donated to Diggs Gallery by Mr. Hanes. 

In addition, for this 15^th anniversary year, the gallery will feature 35 selected works by its namesake, James T. Diggs, Jr., better known as “T.”  Professor Diggs and his family are a strong component of Winston-Salem as well as the Winston-Salem State University.  Professor Diggs was a philosopher, educator and artist who always stressed the importance of pure art.  “Art is a means of expressing, creating, doing your own thing, and being liberated.”  This was his philosophy for 45 years, so much so that he practiced what he preached; designed the buildings of WSSU’s campus, enjoying the company of his colleagues, being surrounded by students looking for a better technique, and producing drawings, prints and paintings for pleasure. 

Born on July 13, 1915, he attended Winston-Salem State University (then called Winston-Salem Teachers College) and graduated in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.  He served in the United States military during World War II and studied at the Southern College of the Arts, Portsmouth, England.  In 1944, he married Mary Louise Moss.  He studied art and art education at Columbia University and received his master’s degree in 1947. In 1953, he served as Chairman of the art department at Winston-Salem State University, and in 1956, he co-founded the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem and co-established the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts, now know as the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA).  He gave up his seat as Chairman of the art department at WSSU in 1959, but continued teaching until his retirement in 1979.  In 1983, he was awarded the title Art professor emeritus.  James T. Diggs Jr. died on April 4, 1989, survived by his wife Louise Diggs, their children and grandchildren as well as three sisters who remain active at WSSU and Diggs Gallery.   Members of the Hanes and Diggs family will be attending a private reception at the gallery on November 9, 2005 .