About the artwork: “As a young girl growing up in Apex and Raleigh, the Shaw area was a place of prestige within my community, from the university to Dr. Debman’s office, who delivered me and my siblings. My approach to honoring the historic Leonard Hall is to showcase an image of the graduating class of 1889. My design concept is to build a story by collaging the graduates with an image of the school. The graduate image shows the pride, dignity and prestige that the Shaw community evoked in that time period. My hope is to inspire viewers and to entice questions. Who were they?
I will combine my original painting in the foreground along with a screened image of writing paper. The blueprint represents changes to come to the area. The quote summarizes the historical mission and contribution of Shaw University’s Leonard Hall: “Education=Freedom.”
About the artist:
Debbie Crawford discovered a love of creating at an early age, when she was either making art from discarded items, making clothes by hand or rearranging the family's living room on a weekly basis. As a mixed media artist, Debbie uses acrylics, recycled paper, original illustrations, fabric and found objects to create. She began creating a line of original notecards and gifts using her original verses, favorite quotes, word collages and more. Currently, she is also creating a mixed media series focusing on the Black Migration, entitled Comin & Goin.
