User:Kmblim/sandbox


 * IMPORTANT NOTE: I have been using the sandbox pages that I have created for each article I assigned myself to fully flesh out my sentences and include all of my sources. Reference those for all of the more finalized workings! I didn't realize that I had left this sandbox in such rough stages until I came back recently.

Thelma Johnson Streat
- additional info to see from Oregon Encyclopedia source: https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/streat_thelma_johnson/#.X5mE61NKj-Z

- began painting at the age of 7 (not super important information, but I enjoy seeing this info in the articles of more well-known individuals)

- spent some time in the Queen Charlotte Islands, looking to the Haida Indians for inspiration for some of her visual art and dance (their use of strong graphic designs and bold color were of particular interest) ---the Haida people and the Queen Charlotte Islands have their own Wikipedia pages, so make sure to link those (I don't remember exactly how to do that, look it up in the trainings!)

- 1945: Streat joined as chair of a committee in Chicago that sponsored murals, with the idea of "Negro in Labor" education (this quote comes from the Oregon Encyclopedia website, I want to look more into this information)

Suzanna Ogunjami
- painter, active in NYC from 1928-34 (before returning to live in West Africa)

- of Igbo (Nigerian) ancestry; left for Jamaica (from W. Africa) at a young age

- completed primary education in West Indies in 1921

Work and career
Ogunjami expressed herself through multiple mediums, including metalwork, printmaking, and jewelry, but she is most recognized for her paintings. The subjects of her paintings include portraits of African people and African women braiding hair. Her work indicates her interests in religious education and in depictions of African peoples as sophisticated individuals, to counter stereotypes that present African peoples as uncivilized.

Exhibitions
While Ogunjami was still studying at Teachers College, one of her first oil paintings, Sunflower, was featured in the 1928 Harmon Foundation's exhibition at the International House of New York. Still Life, another of her paintings, was exhibited by the Harmon Foundation at an unknown location from 1929 to 1933. In December 1934, she had a one-woman exhibition at Delphic Studios in New York that included jewelry, metalwork, and twenty-seven paintings. Her commentary on one of her paintings, titled Nupe Princess, at the exhibit's opening was recorded and can be found in the out-takes of A Study of Negro Artists, a 1930s film funded by the Harmon Foundation.

In March and April 1935, Ogunjami had work presented at the New Jersey State Museum, in Trenton, in the "Arts and Crafts Exhibition."

Notable works

 * Sunflower
 * Still Life
 * Nupe Princess (c. 1935)
 * Full Blown Magnolia

Marriage
In 1915, Ogunjami married Matthew Wilson, an Episcopal clergyman, as indicated in a New York City marriage certificate (the 1930 U.S. Census has 1916 recorded). U.S. Census records show that Ogunjami's nephew, Francis H. Bowen, and her cousin, Lena Benford, lived with Ogunjami and her husband.

Religious beliefs
She followed her husband into the Episcopalian faith after they were married, but records not do show what her religious beliefs were previously.

Relocation to Sierra Leone
To follow Wilson's wishes to return to his homeland, Sierra Leone, Ogunjami and her husband departed New York permanently for Freetown in 1935. While her husband became involved in the Anglican church there, Ogunjami kept in contact with the Harmon Foundation, telling them that her desire was to build a school, to "train our girls and boys, not only how to use their brains but their hands also, and to fit them for future useful service." She then founded the West African Normal and Industrial Institute in Freetown, as well as another school located twelve miles outside of the city.

Besides her educational efforts, Ogunjami continued to make art, specifically printmaking, and also dedicated time to religious service. She had two solo exhibitions in 1935 and 1937.

Death
Ogunjami's date and place of death are unknown; correspondence ceased between her and the Harmon Foundation after 1941. One hint as to her disappearance from records and from correspondence is included in a letter, dated 1960, from Krio modern artist Miranda Burney-Nicol to Evelyn S. Brown, associate director of the Harmon Foundation, which states Burney-Nicol's belief that Ogunjami returned to Jamaica and was thought to be dead.