Artist Barbara Earl Thomas holds hands with the past and the future

The artist Barbara Earl Thomas has made a promise: to keep the artistic legacy of her mentor Jacob Lawrence alive and growing. Barbara met the Black modernist painter Jacob Lawrence as his student at the University of Washington in the 1970s. As her career and artistry developed, so did her friendship with Jacob and his wife Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, who’ve now both died.Last fall Barbara contributed four of her own portraits of Jacob to accompany his debut in the Netherlands–his first solo show in Europe. The exhibit, and being there at the opening, were part of her promise. Barbara enlisted the help of her friend, the arts journalist and cultural strategist Leilani Lewis–to go on the trip, and to be part of stewarding Jacob and Gwendolyn’s artistic legacies. In this episode of Meet Me Here, Leilani and Barbara are in conversation about their trip, friendship, and art. Barbara Earl Thomas’ website Leilani Lewis’ article: The Barbara Earl Thomas’s High-Frequency Art MethodLeilani Lewis’ article: As the US Slides Into Tyranny, Europe Champions Black American Artists Jacob and Gwen Knight Lawrence Information Center   MoMA profile of Jacob Lawrence Your support helps create shows like Seattle Now, Soundside, and Meet Me Here! Become a KUOW member todaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.