September 28, 2021
Lake County Art Program Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
As part of "Art in Public Places," Lake County Government celebrates Hispanic Heritage month with its newest exhibit titled GENERACIONES en este país: GENERATIONS in this land. The exhibit is located in the County's main administration building, located at 18 N. County Street, in downtown Waukegan.
A simple, public reception will take place on Friday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m.
Exploring place and identity, this exhibit honors immigrant and first, second, and third generation artists from various cultures. This show was curated by artist and College of Lake County (CLC) Community Art Coordinator Katrina Davis-Salazar with the creative assistance of Josh Beadle of Three Brothers Theater.
The current exhibit includes work from Lia Shulze, Alma Salgado, Daniela Castro, Jesus Ortega, and Everett Reynolds, all former or current CLC students, from different immigrant generations and age groups. The curators also included area artists and community members Geovanni Gonzalez, Lucinda Pearl, and Davis-Salazar herself.
There is a good reason curator Davis-Salazar and co-curator Beadel selected artists from a variety of art skill levels, stages of life, generational stories, and ethnic identities. Although this exhibit is intended to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, it is ever important to the curators that their exhibits be inclusive and represent diverse faces, cultures, and ages.
One example of representation and inclusivity is the work of Giovanni Gonzalez. Seven pieces from Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant, are included in this exhibit for their honest emotions, humanity, and representations of faces from various cultures and races.
Everett Reynolds, an immigrant from Belize, was asked to share one piece for this exhibit, due to the beauty of his work and his immigrant perspective. While Belize is not considered a Hispanic country, it is a culturally diverse area that unites many heritages, including a 25% Mestizo population. Having grown up immersed in many different cultures, Reynolds works hard to represent a variety of ethnicities in his work.
Highlighting the similarities and differences in the cultural values and challenges between Latinx generations, this work explores the confluence of American and Hispanic cultures, old and new traditions, identity, and current challenges in the United States.
The exhibit is in the County's main administration building, located at 18 N. County Street, in downtown Waukegan. It is open to the public Monday thru Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Parking is available in the attached parking garage and is free for the first two hours.
For more information on Lake County's Art in Public Places, please visit lakecountyil.gov/art.
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