Arkansas State To Host Traveling Photo Exhibit
JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas State University is hosting a traveling photography exhibit by the late Rogerline Johnson, Sr. The “Portraits in Life” presentation is titled “You Lookin’ Good, Goin’ Goin’ Gone!”
The exhibit, which will run from March 8 until March 30, will get underway at an opening reception Monday, March 10, at 6 p.m. in the Dean B. Ellis Library. The exhibit is located on the third floor and is open to the public during regular library hours.
Johnson was an American photographer from Helena, Ark., best known for his photos of African Americans in the Arkansas Delta region during the 1950s and 1960s. A 1948 graduate of Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Johnson also taught and worked as a coach at several Arkansas high schools.
Speakers at the opening reception include April Sheppard, assistant director of public services for the Dean B. Ellis Library; project coordinator Phyllis Y. Hammonds of the E.C. Morris Foundation, Inc.; and Jama Best, program specialist for the Arkansas Humanities Council.
Hammonds will discuss the making of the exhibit along with Johnson’s son, Steve, and Mrs. Ludie Johnson. The Johnson Studio, located in Helena, opened in 1952 and was operated by Rogerline until his death in 1996. In addition, Steve Johnson and retired Arkansas State professor Dr. Wilbert Gaines will present the story behind the photographs.
Special recognition will also be made at the reception for the Arkansas Humanities Council; the late Dr. C. Calvin Smith, a former Arkansas State professor who was instrumental in helping to establish the doctoral program for heritage studies at A-State in 2000; and retired educator and historian Thelma H. Hammonds.
The exhibit is partially funded by the Arkansas Humanities Council, National Endowment for Humanities, the E. C. Morris Foundation, Inc. and in cooperation with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Department of Art.
For further information and bookings of the traveling exhibit, contact Phyllis Y. Hammonds at p.hammonds@aol.com, @ecmorrisfound on Twitter, or call (870) 338-1508 or Steve Johnson, Johnson Studio, Stevejhonson26@hotmail.com, (870) 338-1507.
