ARTiFACTS Feature

Arlene Turner-Crawford is a Chicago-based artist committed to community and activism. 

I was a student in the School of Art at NIU from 1967 to 1971.  The Civil Rights movement helped a significant number of first generation college bound Black students to attend colleges and I chose to come to NIU. Once there many Black students, including myself organized to bring additional Black faculty to the University.  In 1968, NIU hired Nelson Stevens and Dr. Grace Hampton-Porter into the Art Department. During that time, my work/study job was as a model for Drawing classes in the Art Department.  Prof. Richard Long, my first drawing teacher at NIU, recommended I work for Nelson Stevens’ Intro to Drawing class. Nelson had become a member of the artist collective, AfriCOBRA, which was based in Chicago, at the time.

The African Commune of BAD Relevant Artists would become an important force in the Black Arts Movement, which was gaining momentum within the major urban cities and communities during the late 60’s and early 70’s. The Black Arts Movement or BAM became the cultural arm of the Black Power Movement, and the catalyst for Cultural Institution building.  It galvanized Black: Writers, Artists, Playwrights, Musicians, Choreographers and Dancers to create change, self-define our aesthetic, our history and our journey in America.

At NIU, through Nelson Stevens, I met many of the AfriCOBRA members. As an assignment, Nelson arranged for me to interview Jeff Donaldson, an architect of the Wall of Respect and a founder of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC).  My interview with him was a dynamic experience. Jeff Donaldson invited me to participate in CONFAB, the Conference on the Functional Aspects of Black Art.   In 1970, I was a student member of Task Force 1: Education; along with Theresa Christopher, David Driskell, Eugenia Dunn, Carolyn Lawrence, Malkia Roberts, Frank Smith, Dorothy Carter (also a student) and Carole Ward.

Our Task Force was charged to develop a framework for the ethos and purpose of art Instruction for African American school children. From this conference I developed relationships, and inspirations, which thrive to this day.  I was encouraged to join the National Conference of Artists, Inc. (NCA) founded by Dr. Margaret Burroughs. It is the oldest national organization of African American visual artists, educators, historians, museum personnel, students and supporters of the arts. It was because of these experiences through NIU, I maintain a commitment to community and activism.

I completed my Bachelor of Science in Art Education at Northern and went on to do graduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst and finally to be the first African American to be confirmed with a Masters of Science in Art Education from Indiana University’s Herron School of Art.

I went on to pursue education and cultural agendas in my working career.  As a Cultural Activist I was the Vice President of the Chicago Chapter of NCA and served as the Planning Chair for the 25th Anniversary Convention held in Chicago in 1983. I was responsible for developing the framework and procedures for our conference symposiums, workshops, speakers, exhibitions and special events. I also served on the Executive Board of NCA, as the Youth Initiatives Co-Chair.  I co-founded the Sutherland Community Arts Initiative, (SCAI) serving as the Board Secretary and President; and I was part of the early organizing of Sapphire & Crystals, a collective of African American women artists. I also served on the Executive Board for the African American Arts Alliance in Chicago.

In 2009 I retired from my position as Unit Head of Student and Cultural Affairs for Northeastern Illinois University’s Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies in Chicago.  Since then I’ve pursued my studio art ambitions.  Some of my recent curated and collaborative projects includes my work as Lead Artist for “Sankofa for the Earth”, an art installation for the Burnham Wildlife Corridor’s Gathering Spaces on Chicago’s Lakefront.  I was co-artist with Statik Barnes for “Seeds of Our Culture”, a mural commissioned for Chicago’s Year of Public Art, Community engagement projects.  I was the guest curator for DuSable Museum’s “AfriCOBRA: Art & Impact,” a collaborative exhibition project with the South Side Community Art Center and the Logan Center for the Arts of the University of Chicago. I was also lead artist and designer for “Up from the South: Bronzeville Great Migration Mural”, a curriculum project of Dr. Zada Johnson, that involved working with her Graduate Seminar class students and Bronzeville community residents, at the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies.