Widening the Path:
The Student Artists of Huston-Tillotson

In 2022, the Downs-Jones Library at Huston-Tillotson University was awarded a Widening the Path grant from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The program offered HT undergraduates a chance to use their creative skills to produce and showcase their work in public and digital spaces.

 

The objectives of the program were to emphasize the ongoing legacies of African American culture and education in the United States and to empower HT students to freely recreate literature, art, dance, and/or fashion. Students’ works reflect the work of influential figures recognized from the decades of the arts, music, and entertainment known as the Harlem Renaissance. Students were also encouraged to depict day-to-day landscapes and atmospheres that existed in the 1920s and 1930s and recreate them with a modern-day presentation.

 

Students could recreate material(s) chosen from the Library of Congress’ digital collections or use materials from HT’s archive, selecting pieces from the collections that inspired them.

 

The artists' works were presented on campus to the local community. This exhibit is now available online.

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Please enjoy the work of these talented student artists.