Art Basel arrives in Rockford with Black Winter event, celebrating African American arts

ROCKFORD — Black Winter, the first-ever Rockford Art Basel party celebrating African American heritage and arts, will be held Jan. 23 at the Rockford Art Museum.

The event will recognize local Black artists and represents the last chance to see the "My Way: African American Art from the Black South" exhibit. The collection of drawings, multi-media, paintings and sculptures has been on display since Oct. 8 at the museum.

The exhibit, the last day of which is Jan. 23, is a collection of 156 works of art inspired by a group of 46 artists from around the country. Many of the works in this exhibition are part of two major donations to Rockford Art Museum made by Susan and Stephen Pitkin and James Hager.

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"We want to expose people to the artwork that is in the Rockford Art Museum, and we want to highlight some local creatives here in the Rockford area," said Tony Turner, founder of Urban Intellectuals 815, a creative wellness organization; and founder of Conscious Coaching, an organization that strives to create opportunities in underrepresented communities.

Turner, who views the gathering as a precursor to events in celebration of Black History Month, said people who can express themselves in creative ways and who bring joy and entertainment to society are often overlooked when it comes to recognition.

"We give award for teachers, people in the community and politicians, but the creatives hold a lot of humanity skill sets — you know fine arts, whether it's fashion design, music, poetry, photography," he said. "We want to acknowledge and honor the creatives in our area and bring light to an amazing art exhibit that the museum has been hosting since October."

Rockford artist Shaniqwa Porter will have paintings for sale at Black Winter. She said an African American Art Basel is overdue.

"I think having something like this is impactful for the community overall and especially for people of color," she said.

Antwon "AG" George, a member of the Winnebago County Health Department, was recognized in 2019 by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce for its 40 Leaders under 40. He has built a solid career as a DJ performing around the country.

"Everybody likes to be recognized for something," he said, "and I think from an artistic standpoint it's great because I don't think there are many platforms that recognize artists, especially if we are talking about urban communities."

The all-black formal-attire event will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the museum, 711 N. Main St.

Tickets are $50 per person or $400 for a VIP table of 10.

Chris Green: cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Art Museum to host Art Basel party celebrating Black artists