Dumela Contemporary African Art Summer Show

June 6 – 29, 2014

(Note: we will be closed on Friday, June 27)

 Open Hours: Fridays 5-9 p.m., Saturdays 1-6 p.m., Sundays 12-6 p.m.

 Opening reception: Friday, June 6,
2014  5:30-9:00 p.m.

 Closest CTA stops:

Brown Line Paulina station

#50 Damen bus (Roscoe stop)

 For more
information, contact Nancy McDaniel 773-477-2404

Dumela Background:

 Dumela’s
owners, Leila Green and Nancy McDaniel, both have a passion for southern and
East Africa, their cultures, their people, and the art…. as well as the
landscape and the animals. Although they came to it from different avenues,
Leila by birth and Nancy
through a first trip in 1987, they share it deeply.

Both Nancy
and Leila have traveled extensively and frequently to South Africa and Zimbabwe,
as well as Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana. On their trips, they were
enchanted by the bright and graphic art which they saw and purchased for their
own collections.

They
observed that most of the African art that they had seen in galleries and homes
in the United States
was very tribal, traditional, and often sculptural (masks, carvings in wood and
stone, beadwork figures, bronzes, etc.) Stunning though this art is, nowhere
had Leila and Nancy seen the art that they had come to love and which people
admired when they came into their homes and offices: bright, graphic, contemporary
paintings.

So,
Dumela was born in 1998, with the mission of bringing art by (primarily young,
emerging) contemporary African artists to Chicago.
Dumela specializes in "contemporary African art." Some of the art
Dumela sells can be described as "naive" or untrained, while much of
the work is done by artists who have received some formal art training.

Nancy and
Leila love going to Africa to meet with the
artists personally, whether in their homes, studios, or even buying art from
them out of the trunk of a car! They love being surrounded by this exciting and
vibrant art. And being involved with these artists and helping them with their
careers, even in a small way, is one of the great joys of their lives.

All work
is original. Paintings are sold framed. There will also be a selection of
textiles (appliqués and painted fabric) from the Weya Women’s cooperative in Zimbabwe.

Dumela
only does one public show annually; it is held at August House Studio in Roscoe Village
for the month of June every year. Leila and Nancy hope you come see their new work in
this intimate space in a vibrant neighborhood.