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Dusable Museum To Present A New Exhibition Of Art From The Collection Of Actress Cch Pounder

CHICAGO – The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center is pleased to announce a new exhibition featuring paintings from the Collection of Emmy® award-nominated actress CCH Pounder. The exhibition “Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection” will open on March 18, 2023, and continue through July 16, 2023.

The exhibition which was curated especially for the DuSable Museum contains 24 works of art by world-renowned artists including Kehinde Wiley, Patricia Renee Thomas, Reginald Jackson, Robert Pruitt, Greg Breda, Ebony G. Patterson, and Mickalene Thomas, among others. Each item was curated and personally selected in collaboration with the DuSable and Ms. Pounder from her extensive collection specifically for “Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection.”

Award-winning actress CCH

Pounder is well-known for portraying “Dr. Loretta Wade” on the CBS series, “NCIS: New Orleans” for seven seasons and other notable projects include the television shows, “The Good Fight, “Warehouse 13,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Shield,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “ER” and HBO’s “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” which garnered Pounder her fourth Emmy® nomination. Ms. Pounder is currently reprising her role as the clan spiritual leader “Mo’at” in James Cameron’s hit film “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Her numerous film credits include her breakout role in Bagdad Café. A graduate of Ithaca College, she received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the school and in 2021, received the Ithaca College Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Pounder serves on the Board of the African Millennium Foundation and was a founding member of Artists for a New South Africa. An advocate of the arts, she is active in the Creative Coalition and recent accolades for Pounder include the Visionary Leadership Award in Performing Arts from the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD) in San Francisco.

In addition to her prolific acting career, CCH Pounder has been extensively involved with the arts as a patron, collector, gallery owner and museum founder. Originally from Georgetown, Guyana, Pounder’s collection consists of Caribbean and African artists and artists of the African Diaspora. Her collection is heavily concentrated in Contemporary Art but also includes traditional African sculptures. Recently, pieces from Ms. Pounder’s collection have been exhibited at select museums and organizations.

In 1993 Pounder and her husband, the late Boubacar Koné, founded and built the Musee Boribana, the first privately owned contemporary museum in Dakar Senegal, which they gifted to that nation in 2014. Pounder’s personal collection contains over 500 works of art from which the pieces in “Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection,” were selected.

Perri Irmer, President and CEO of The DuSable Museum stated, “We are thrilled to be welcoming Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection to the DuSable Museum. Ms. Pounder is an amazing talent with a unique and impressive collection of Black artists’ works that we are honored to bring to our Chicago audience. Our mission, reflected through our recent rebranding as The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, is to expose visitors to the entirety of the Black diaspora, telling stories of the Caribbean and Africa as well as America. This exciting exhibition and CCH Pounder’s own history, exemplify this mission.”

“‘Diaspora Stories,’ centers the imagery of Black people in quotidian narratives, portraiture, spirituality, and history. The exhibition is presented from the point of view of the collector. Pounder has collected hundreds of pieces by African and African Diasporic artists for over 45 years. The curated grouping of paintings highlights the early work of prominent midcareer artists such as Kehinde Wiley, Ebony G. Patterson and Mickalene Thomas, alongside emerging talents like Harmonia Rosales and Patricia Renee Thomas and seminal artists such as Betye Saar and the late Geoffrey Holder, “said Danny Dunson Director of Curatorial Services and Community Partnerships.

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, a Smithsonian affiliate, is the nation’s first independent museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and study of the history and culture of Africans Americans and people of African descent. For more, visit www.dusablemuseum.org and follow @ dusablemuseum.

SBA OFFERS Continued from page 2 erty damage.

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase of up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a safe room or storm shelter, sump pump, French drain or retaining wall to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 3.305 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 2.313 percent for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration # 17787.

Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is April 17, 2023. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Nov. 16, 2023.

SIMS CELEBRATES ILLINOIS’ SEVENTH CREDIT UPGRADE

For the seventh time in less than two years, Illinois has seen another improved bond rating. S&P Global Ratings – one of the nation’s major rating agencies – announced upgrades Thursday thanks to the fiscally responsible decisions made by Illinois Democrats.

State Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr. – the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Majority Caucus Appropriations Leader – released the following statement:

“Today’s news is yet another sign the years of fiscal responsibility from the General Assembly is paying off. In recent years, we have been able put money back in the pockets of the state’s hardworking families and provide funding for the people who need the most help – all while paying down our bill backlog. Illinois is a standout state when it comes to putting the needs of our residents first, and we do so in a responsible and equitable way.

“S&P Global Ratings’ upgrade of Illinois bonds shows our fiscally responsible budgeting approach is working and is independent proof that our state is headed in the right direction. Our future looks bright and I look forward to continued collaborative efforts during this year’s budget negotiation process to keep the state on this upward economic trajectory.”

JOYCE ANNOUNCES NEARLY $3 MILLION IN LOCAL OSLAD GRANTS

With support from State Senator Patrick Joyce, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is distributing nearly $3 million in grant funds to multiple communities in the 40th District as part of the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant program.

“The funds from the OSLAD grants are a great resource for our communities so improvements can be made to parks and other outdoor spaces to continue to make them useful for folks,” said Joyce (D-Essex). “Not only does this investment help keep our outdoor areas appealing, it continues to build up and maintain spaces for people to visit for safe, public outdoor recreation.”

A total of $60 million in state grants are being awarded for 118 local park projects throughout Illinois to help communities acquire land and develop recreational opportunities. The grants represent the largest round of Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grants in the 36-year history of the program.

OSLAD is a cost-sharing program between state and local governments that has become one of the most popular grant programs in Illinois. Since it was established, OSLAD has awarded more than $530 million for park projects throughout Illinois. This year, the 40th District will receive funding in these local areas:

Chicago Heights Park District- $600,000

City of Kankakee- $600,000

Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District- $207,750

Village of Monee- $600,000

Village of University Park- $200,000

New Lenox Community Park District$600,000

“These outdoor areas and recreational facilities have shown to promote growth among individuals, as well as the community, environment and the local economy,” said Joyce. “I will continue to always support the OSLAD grant program so our park districts and natural resource preserves in Illinois can continue to thrive.”

For more information about the OSLAD grant program and to see a full list of recipients, visit DNR’s website.