Saul Alexander Gallery at Main Library: Come check out September's gallery exhibition created by Dr. Walter B. Curry and artist Kalah Crawford titled "Ancestral Reflections: The Thompson Family." The exhibit will be available to visit from October 1st to October 31st.

Artist's Statement: The exhibit consists of eight paintings that feature the individual experiences of enslaved relatives, including a woman who served in the Civil War; and individual agricultural and civic activities during past times in rural low country South Carolina. Inspired by stories from Dr. Curry's award-winning book The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from The Past (1830-1960), the collection curates the connection of family history through the African American experience, local history, and rural life. The collection includes QR Codes that will allow visitors to download historical images, texts and audio clips related to each painting and purchase art prints of the paintings. The exhibition is a joint collaboration between Dr. Walter Curry, founder of Renaissance Publications, LLC, and artist Chakalah Crawford, founder of A.D.D. Art by Kalah.

Artist Kalah Crawford, based out of Columbia, SC, has recently found her passion in the art industry. Taking one single art class in 1999, Kalah Crawford found that drawing came easy for her. In 2017, she was motivated to turn her drawings into paintings. Though she surfaced a few basic paintings in the past, she never found an interest or will to learn more about it until then. Under the hands of an experienced artist as her mentor, Kalah began to develop from an emerging artist to a professional artist that ranged from the use of acrylics and oils and applied her expertise to the creation of murals, portraits, and work as it expresses her thoughts and ideas. She has had opportunities to showcase her work in exhibits, schools, and the Department of Juvenile Justice, and has traveled out of state to share her work with other communities. She has been featured in magazines, on news stations, and in newspapers. Kalah has done work to capture family historical stories, has done commissions of portraits to tell stories of several people that lost loved ones to spread awareness about suicide and domestic violence. As a small business owner of A.D.D. Art by Kalah, LLC, she desires to inspire and motivate others while capturing the attention of her audience as it ranges from youth to adults. Kalah believes that art is so much bigger than self; it is an opportunity to capture a vision, a moment, an experience in a way that will intrigue others and create conversation that carries on beyond the time of creation.