Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 12-13-19

Features
Art Exhibit Featuring Portraits Of Former Slaves Is Hitting The Road
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
A collection of portraits of former slaves on display ear- lier this year at Robert Saun- ders Library is hitting the road.
At the start of the year until mid-February, Unstolen Dignity by local artist Ladale Lloyd, will hang on the walls of Plymouth Congre- gational Church in Des Moines, Iowa. It’s the first traveling exhibit for the series, which includes 21 paintings recreated from black and white photos.
The collection will be on display from Jan. 4 to Feb. 15. Lloyd will host a talk there sometime before the exhibit closes.
It’s a dream come true for Lloyd, who years ago began his art career while working as a police reporter at the former Tampa Tribune.
Once a storyteller about crime and death, Lloyd now brings to life the stories of those who were buried and forgotten long ago.
“I want Unstolen Dig- nity to be a part of a national conversation about race and the legacy of slavery,” he said. “It asks us to rethink how we see slavery and the contribu- tions of enslaved people, to ac- knowledge that slavery had a heavy hand in shaping our democracy and creating wealth.”
Early in his career, Lloyd mostly painted landscapes and scenery. But he began using his storytelling skills to paint
LADALE LLOYD
....local artist of Unstolen Dignity exhibit
Another portrait features Charity Anderson in a teal blouse with a white apron. An older woman, her expression is straightforward and pierc- ing.
There will be more paint- ings to come later this month. Lloyd will kick off another fundraiser to add to Un- stolen Dignity.
The new collection, a total of 21 paintings, will feature more portraits and also in- clude scenes and reflections of narratives, Lloyd said.
“This next phase, I want to be a little more literal telling stories about things that have been overlooked,” he said.
Ultimately, Lloyd said he’d like to see Unstolen Dignity be accessible via cof- fee table.
“I’d love to put (the paint- ings) in a book,” he said.
Learn more about Un- stolen Dignity at www.ladalelloyd.com.
former slaves after witnessing the excavation of a mass slave grave in Washington, D.C.
The lack of a tombstone telling the individual stories of those in the ground prompted Lloyd to create Unstolen Dignity in their honor.
And so, using photos and narratives collected from a 1930 Works Progress Admin- istration project, Lloyd began recreating the pictures on can-
vas.
The portraits feature just
the individuals; the back- grounds have been stripped away. The photos are not col- orized, so Lloyd uses a combi- nation of creative license and
research to recreate the cloth- ing.
That means reading the narratives to paint young Lewis Hicks confidently staring ahead while clutching the lapels of a teal blue suit.
Portrait of Charity Ander- son that will be on display.
Tampa Tracks Over 700,000 Trips On Shared Scooters In 6 Months
In May, of this year the City of Tampa began a year-long pilot program to deploy shared electric scooters in select areas of the City. The objective of the Shared Motorized Scooter Pilot Program is to introduce a new, low-cost method of transporta- tion to increase mobility op- tions in the City.
The scooters are available for short-term rental using a smart phone app, allowing peo-
ple to quickly and easily move themselves distances that might be too far to walk, but too short or inconvenient to drive and park a car.
Mayor Jane Castor said, “Whether you’re using them to get to work, lunch, or as a form of entertainment, micromobil- ity options are quickly becom- ing a great way to get around cities.
“I look forward to continu-
ing to look at alternative modes of transportation as part of my Transforming Tampa’s Tomor- row initiative. Global cities de- mand world-class transportation, and that’s why my administration is laser fo- cused on building a future with options including micromobil- ity, a modern streetcar, bus rapid transit, and rail.”
As part of the pilot, the City is closely monitoring the pro- gram and gathering data to de- velop a multi-faceted, long-term mobility plan that satisfies the community’s needs and encourages strong public- private partners. Since the pro- gram was launched on May 24th, there have been over 700,000 scooter trips covering over 850,000 miles. That trans- lates to about 4,000 trips every day!
The program is run in part- nership with four of the nation’s largest shared vendors – Bird, Spin, Lime and JUMP. Apps for all four companies are available on Apple or Android devices.
More information on this program can be found at www.tampagov.net/scooters.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019