Ruiz-Divas (left) and Jones (right) harvesting plants for natural dyes
Seitu Ken Jones, a multidisciplinary artist who believes in the power of public art to link the past and present, spent 2020–21 as a visiting artist at the UIUC Center for Advanced Study. He returned this past June to work with Reverend Dawn Blackman and artist Victor Alberto Ruiz-Divas at the Randolph Street Community Garden. They worked with youth on summer projects, which included producing dye from local plants and designing art from and for the garden. The final project, “Ancestral Roll Call” was completed as part of the Randolph Gardens Juneteenth observation. Photos courtesy of Sharon Irish.
Blackman, Ruiz-Divas and Jones discuss local history at the Randolph Gardens Juneteenth observation
Champaign Youth Employment Services (YES) students installing the Seitu Jones project “Ancestral Roll Call”
