Inspired by the work of George Washington Carver and his use of everyday materials, Seitu Ken Jones looks at food, sustainability, and visual art at the intersection of self-care and the Beloved community. George Washington Carver created over 300 paints, stains and dyes using Southern soils and plants.
In his FREE virtual lecture, "Marking Space with George’s Blues," Jones will delve into artistic responses to the environment, specifically how African American artists continue to shape and sustain their well-being. In addition, Seitu will share how he and others have used simple and subtle techniques to mark the sometimes-forgotten presence of people of color on our streetscapes.
All talks and workshops in the Power of Art series focus on art's ability to raise awareness, cultivate community, and promote social change. The series is made in part thanks to a grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation.
This event is free, virtual, and open to the public. If you are a BIPOC artist or community member, consider ALSO signing up for Seitu Jones' Workshop, "Sacred Sidewalk Shadows", on March 20th.
ZOOM LINK:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82820730211
Virtual Artist Lecture: Marking Space with George’s Blues
with Seitu Ken Jones
March 17, 2022
12PM-1PM
Virtual
Free, Max registration is 100 participants
ABOUT SEITU KEN JONES
Artist and advocate Seitu Ken Jones has been tending the soil of community through art for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, he has harnessed the tools of visual art, infrastructure, and civic engagement to create work that links history to the present and honors the community’s assets — from its historic figures to natural resources to cultural traditions.
In his public art and events, Jones pushes beyond traditional art spaces to reach people in the context of their lives and communities. His large-scale sculptural installation Turnip Greens was dedicated in 2019 in the Nashville Farmers Market, inspired by the city’s bounty of food and black culture. First enacted in St. Paul in 2014, A Community Meal convened two thousand people over dinner at a table half a mile long. Jones’s site-specific art installations for the Twin Cities Light Rail Transit system blend visual beauty with local history. In 2013, Jones co-founded Frogtown Farm, a five-acre urban farm in a St. Paul city park created with and for neighborhood residents.
Jones is a recently retired faculty member of Goddard College in Washington State. He holds a BS degree in Landscape Design and a MLS in Environmental History from the University of Minnesota. He’s been a Senior Fellow in Agricultural Systems in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Science Resources at the University of Minnesota and is a member of the board of managers for the Capitol Region Watershed District. He resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his partner the poet Soyini Guyton.
Read more about Seitu on his website.
