Lawrenceville and the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning have partnered to celebrate Black History Month with a new digital project.
Brother Nature, a project by Shoghi Lombard can now be viewed throughout the downtown square during the month of February in celebration of Black History Month. The city says visitors are invited to explore each piece on the LED kiosk by learning and reflecting on Lombard’s statements.
“Through the generous partnership with the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning, the City of Lawrenceville recognizes the impact Brother Nature has on the downtown square, " Mayor David Still said. “This is a powerful visual on the same square where the Charles Hale Memorial is located.”
Emerging artist Shoghi Amir Lombard is a Lawrenceville resident originally born in New Orleans.
According to a press release, as his family moved through the southern states, Lombard grew to appreciate the simple yet intricate organic forms of nature he recognized in rural Georgia; the regional traditions reinforced his eagerness to express himself in New Orleans; added to his maturing acuity, the precious parcels of the history and pride of the African American educational culture in Tuskegee, Alabama; and traveled to what was then, Clark College, in Atlanta, GA. to study Medical Illustration. While at Clark, Lombard also studied drawing within the Spelman College Art Program. There, too, in the AU Center, the stirrings of a social justice education, inspired by visiting Civil Rights and artistic luminaries, added to Lombard’s artistic sensibilities and insight.
Lombard continued to have a growing appreciation for the fine arts while working in the fast-paced, time-consuming, corporate exhibit and advertising realm, creating within him a desire to reach new heights in his painting.
According to his website, Lombard's Brother Nature depicts how black men need to return to nature and place more emphasis on spirituality.
“The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning is excited to continue the partnership with the City of Lawrenceville through a new digital avenue,” The Hudgens Center Executive Director Laura Balance, said. “Through his work, Shoghi Lombard aspires to raise awareness among people of their innate, inherent nobility; of the multitude of divine traits that lie within; and of the definite, future spiritual advancement of the human race.”
Established as Gwinnett Council for the Arts in 1981, The Hudgens Center has pioneered arts enrichment programs and community engagement through the arts in Gwinnett.
For additional information regarding the City of Lawrenceville, visit www.lawrencevillega.org or follow the city on social media. For more information about The Hudgens Center, visit www.thehudgens.org.
