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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
May 13, 2015 Page A5 Curator to Explore Race and Art Black Male Women in Art series goes outside mainstream Portland Community College is bringing in an internationally rec- ognized art expert and educator to Portland who is known for bring- ing many historical and contem- porary African-American artists into the cannon of American Art. Leslie King-Hammond is set to speak at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 21, in the Performing Arts Center on the PCC Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49th Ave. King-Hammond’s talk, “An Odyssey of Opportunities: My Life in the Art World,” will ad- dress her multifaceted career, whose roots stretch back to her childhood in New York City, where she first discovered her love of archaeology and art. Admission is free and the pub- lic is welcome. Parking is also free at the campus. The lecture series, which was founded in 2010, focuses on pio- neering feminist artists and wom- en significant in the fields of art and art history. “My fascination has been with those aspects of America that Achievement Hire Leslie King-Hammond, an expert on art history and the contribu- tions of black artists, will visit Portland Community College, Thurs- day, May 21 as part of the Portland Women in Art Lecture Series. have not been perceived as part of the mainstream art world,” King-Hammond said. “Portland has always had its own sense of identity and artistic richness. It will be a joy to share my experi- ences and learn more about the wonders of Portland.” King-Hammond received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from City University of New York, Queens College. In 1969, she moved to Baltimore to attend Johns Hopkins University, receiv- ing her doctorate in art history in 1976. She is founding director of the Center for Race and Culture at Maryland Institute College of Art. C.J. Robbins has joined Port- land’s Office of Equity and Hu- man Rights as Program Coordina- tor for Black Male Achievement Portland. Robbins comes to office with a wealth of experience in law, so- cial work, and racial equity. As a Certified Law Student, he gained courtroom experience where he tried cases as a public defender and later clerked for Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Ken Walker. During that time, Robbins says he saw a lack of equity in our justice system, especially for young black men. Later in his career, he joined Portland Opportunities Industri- alization Center to perform social work focused on black youth as part of the Community Healing Initiative. “I learned a lot about myself during that time and realized my skills were better suited for equi- ty policy work and for affecting change on a broader scale,” he said. Spending time as a stay-at- home parent gave Robbins a different perspective on life and community, and he said that that C. J. Robbins experience improved his patience, communication, and listening skills. He hopes to lead “the effort to allow black men and boys in Portland to realize a wealth of un- tapped potential.”
