The portraits are as varied as the students who created them for a special Juneteenth art exhibit at the Evergreen Park Public Library.
That variety and richness is one of the reasons Evergreen Park High School thought it was important to team up with the library to showcase the students’ Black heroes. The student body and surrounding community include a mixture of ethnicities.
“Because our area is so diverse, I think it’s extremely important that we incorporate that into our curriculum,” said Libby McArthur, the art teacher who led the 70 students in their creations, many traditional art but some digital. “What I am extremely proud of is as soon as I explained the assignment, the students jumped right into it.”
McArthur, who is also co-chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for Art Educators in Illinois, said many of the students were as vested as she was in the project.
The Juneteenth Interactive Portrait Project Exhibit, which runs through June 30, features Black heroes, many well-known, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Chisholm, Barack and Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Marley, Prince and Michael Jordan.
Then there is the lessor known Henry Johnson, who was in the first African American Unit in the U.S. Army and received a medal of honor for his service during World War I.
Portraits of Steph Curry (by Savana Henry) and Henry Johnson (by Ryan Cihocki) are part of the Juneteenth exhibit at Evergreen Park Public Library. (Janice Neumann/for the Daily Southtown)
The student artists will have more of a chance to talk about their work during a reception at 6 p.m. on June 20 at the library, 9400 S. Troy Ave., Evergreen Park. Information is at 708-422-8522.
“It gives justice to those having to deal with slavery … and is a start to opening the door about slavery and African American history,” said student Deja Nelson.
Mary Black, the teen librarian who came up with the idea for the exhibit, said students were tasked with choosing heroes they thought “embodied the celebration” of Juneteenth.
Mary Black, teen librarian at Evergreen Park Public Library, helped to set up the exhibit so portraits would coincide with book theme sections in the library. (Janice Neumann/for the Daily Southtown)
The portraits also include a QR code with video to learn more about the individuals depicted.
“I love the interactive portion of the exhibit,” said Black. “Not only are you going to view their artwork, you’re going to dig a little deeper into the subject to learn more.”
Black said she is learning from the exhibit, including about Henry Johnson.
“I don’t really know much about him, but now I will,” she said.
The students also had a chance to research the heroes and chose individuals they loved, spending several months on the work.
“There’s quite a few musical artists represented,” Black said. “I think that’s really fun.”
Black and Jenna Harte-Wisniewski, head of adult services, arranged the artwork around the library so portraits coincide with books, placing pictures of musicians near the music selection and historical figures near the history section.
“We put a lot of thought into where each piece would go,” Harte-Wisniewski said. “I love the different variety of art forms and media they chose.”
Frank Murray, library director, said he was glad such a beautiful exhibit would be open to the public.
“A very creative project by the high school and they let us share it with the community,” Murray said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
