“Grace” Artist Panel

Hennepin Theatre Trust and the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum present “Grace,” a visual arts exhibit in downtown’s new gallery. “Grace” tells the visual story of African American women wearing hats, often called church hats, which has cultural and spiritual significance in the African American community. The exhibit features paintings, photography and hats. Join us for an Artist Panel, moderated by Hawona Sullivan, gallery curator at U of M’s Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center.

“Grace” is an exhibition of artworks by Christopher Deanes, Walter Griffin, Christopher E. Harrison, Sean G. Phillips and Melodee Strong. Hats are by milliner Angie Hall Sandifer.

Hawona Sullivan Janzen is a Twin Cities-based curator and multidisciplinary artist who believes that art is the only thing that can save us from ourselves. She is the curator for the University of Minnesota’s Robert J. Jones Urban Research & Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) Gallery. Hawona has curated 50 plus exhibits in the Twin Cities, including several on the Black History in Minnesota at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, Hennepin County Libraries and the Children’s Theatre. Sullivan Janzen has received numerous grants from the McKnight Foundation, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, and is currently at work on “The Rondo Family Reunion,” a Public Art Lawn Sign project illuminating the people of Saint Paul’s Rondo Community through photography and verse.