She Wears Many Crowns: Multi-Media Paintings by Dr. Yemonja Smalls is on display May 1 through July 15 at Harold Washington Library Center in the Popular Library Exhibit Cases and Congress Corridor East Display Window.
While her choice of medium varies, Dr. Yemonja Smalls' series focuses on colorful painted and collaged portrait interpretations of the queens Smalls observed during her first trip to Africa, in 2015. She uses traditional fabrics to reflect the greatness of the queens that moved among their paradise, specifically the beautifully formed “gele” head wrap crowns that adorned many women’s heads.
A native of Hershey, Pennsylvania, Smalls has spent years in Louisiana, Baltimore and Chicago, where she is currently completing a master's degree in art therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections nationwide.
Smalls will present The Making of A Crown: Collaborative Art Making Amongst a Tribe from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 25 at Harold Washington Library Center, Room 8-S 14&15 on the 8th floor. The program will consist of an artist talk from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and a participatory crown-making activity from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
