ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Pinkie Strother, a renowned North Carolina artist, creates both paintings and dioramas that illustrate the life of African Americans in the 1950s and 60s. Her imagery recounts the past in a moving and engaging manner – everyday activities that speak to much broader topics of family, faith and segregation.

 

Pinkie's new work, "Jazzy Series", pays homage to the music and dance that has been and remains at the heart of black culture. Jazz, which originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its roots in blues and ragtime, has informed much of today's pop music.

 

A highlight of this exhibition is a diorama depicting the Top Hat Lounge, a once famous Louisville nightclub located on West Walnut Street (now Muhammad Ali Blvd.) Stretching from 6th to 13th Streets, Walnut Street was a cultural gathering place for African Americans from the 1920's through the 1950's. Although demolished during urban renewal, the memories of the place and stories of the people live on.