UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The HUB-Robeson Galleries will be presenting artwork from the collections of Grace Hampton and Charles Dumas in the Robeson Gallery from Feb. 12 to April 22. A public reception will be held in the gallery from 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 25.
Grace Hampton’s collection includes artwork from a wide range of artists from the United States, West Africa and the African Diaspora. Much of the work in the collection comes from artists she has met during her travels throughout the United States, Europe and Africa.
Charles Dumas and his wife, Jo, began collecting artwork 40 years ago. They have accumulated many original works from Africa, Haiti, and the African Diaspora, and they are especially fond of works by local State College and Penn State artists.
Grace Hampton is a Penn State College of Arts and Architecture professor emeritus in art, art education, and integrative arts. She was also a professor at Northern Illinois University, California State University at Sacramento, and the University of Oregon in Eugene, and from 2002-03 was a visiting professor at The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi Ghana. She was an exhibitor as well as a member of the American Delegation to the Second World Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, and in numerous visual arts and jewelry exhibitions in the United States. Although officially retired, Hampton has embarked on her next career as full-time artist and consultant in art education, the integration of the arts, and community development through the arts.
Charles Dumas is a Penn State College of Arts and Architecture professor emeritus in the School of Theatre. He was also a professor at Temple University, South Africa’s University of the Free State, State University of New York at New Paltz, and a Fulbright Fellow at Stellenbosch University. Dumas is also a professional writer, actor, director and producer, having appeared in more than 300 professional shows on TV, film and the live stage. He is a past recipient of a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Fellowship. He received an Ensemble Emmy for his part in "Separate But Equal" and a Best Actor Award from the Hollywood/Beverly Hills NAACP for "B.C. Historia."