Artist Gladys Barker Grauer has spent most of her life in activism and art, and sees she still has more work to do. In the meantime, her nine decades of dedication are being honored.
Renown culture worker, activist and socially engaged artist, Gladys Barker Grauer will be honored on February 16, 2019 by the National Women’s Caucus for Art her lifelong commitment to intersect art with activism.
The LTA Awards celebration takes place on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), 1871 Broadway at 61st Street, New York, NY 10023.
At 92-years-old, this Chicago native who moved to Newark, New Jersey in 1951 never stopped working for the people.
Called, the “Mother of Newark Arts,” the Gallery Aferro in Newark, New Jersey stores and archives much of her work. Graur also has permanent exhibitions in Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Museum of American Art; The Newark Museum; the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers-New Brunswick; the Morris Museum; and Gallery Aferro.
Grauer she has shown in dozens of places in her 70+ year career, from Morgan State University to Dakar, Senegal.
Here are some things you should know about Gladys Baker Grauer
- In 1960 she ran for the U.S. Senate as the Socialist Worker’s Party’s nominee
- In 1972 she opened the Aard Studio Gallery in Newark’s South Ward. It was the first Black-owned art gallery in the city. There she helped launch the careers of many artists.
- She is a founding member of the following organizations:
- Black Woman in Visual Perspective
- New Jersey Chapter of the National Conference of Artists
- Newark Arts Council
Other recipients for the 2019 WCA Lifetime Achievement (LTA) Awards include: Olga de Amaral, Mary Beth Edelson, and Mira Schor. The recipients for the 2019 President’s Art & Activism Award are L.J. Roberts and Aruna D’Souza.
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