One need only stop by the Cook Library Center on Grandville to be immersed in pure joy of community conversation with any one of the many neighbors who visit this vital part of the
Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities.
The library center is also home of the Cook Library Scholars. This life enhancing program created in 2013 provides year round programming engaging with Grandville Avenue neighborhood families as they prepare their youth to achieve academic success and to train them to be future leaders.
On Friday, the Cook Library Center presents a special artist reception of the work of their scholars created alongside their art teacher, Tony Kroes.
The scholars utilize the scratchboard technique to showcase a dramatic new series entitled “
Smoke and Mirrors,” a series of images addressing the issues of addiction and exploitation through tobacco.
Created over this past summer, Kroes worked with the students to teach them how to maximize image creation within this media to unearth images using scraping or scratching at a black surface to reveal a white underpainting.
This negative image helps frame the discussions of the dangers of tobacco - a highly addictive substance. It also enables the students to showcase other themes related to tobacco's history and use while shining a light on the economics and politics tied to this industry.
Cook Library Scholars is made possible through the community support and partnerships of organizations and schools in Grand Rapids, including Grand Rapids Public Schools, Calvin College, Grand Valley State University, Kids’ Food Basket, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, and many more.
While you have a lot of options this weekend, this is a great place to see firsthand the work of these scholars and the conversation they are inviting us to participate in via their artistic contribution.