Leslee Stradford

The Space Between History and Hope

Dr. Leslee Stradford

photo taken in Écot la Combe, France (2020)

Biography:

Dr. Leslee Stradford was born in Chicago Illinois. She grew up in Hyde Park one of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods, the home of: The University of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, DuSable Museum of African American History and our 44th U.S. President - Barack Obama.

After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Art Education from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Stradford became part of the Artist-In-Residence program for the City of Chicago.  One of 20 visual artists chosen to create art for the City’s permanent collection.  Upon completing her Master of Fine Arts degree from SAIC, she earned her Doctorate in Art Education and Educational Administration from Illinois State University.

Stradford taught at the American Language Center in Casablanca Morocco, North Africa.  She was asked to deliver a lecture at Oxford University, England, on “The Two Cultures” by C.P. Snow on Arts and Humanities vs. Math and Science.  Stradford’s studies and practices have taken her to Florence, Italy, Studio Arts Center International, and to accept a prestigious position as an Artist-In-Residence at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing China.

Artist Statement:

My approach to making art includes: social, cultural and historical documentation. It is sometimes figurative, sometimes abstract, sometimes both. Using new technology, photographic research, and drawing, I create digital images, painted canvases and printed silks

The Night Tulsa Died: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921 is a series of images which tells a story of an event in U.S. history that pitted white Americans against black Americans.  “The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921” was a massacre confined mainly to the racially segregated Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31 to June 1, 1921.  Stradford is a descendant of victims in that riot.

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Black Wall Street (2010)
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk
36” x 72”
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Once When I Was Six (2010)
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk
36” x 72”
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Whistle Stop: Sundown Town (2010)
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk 
36” x 72”
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Soul Ascension (2010)
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk 
36” x 72”
$5,500

 

Photo Journalism

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Photo Journalism (2010)
36” x 72”
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk  
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Courthouse (2010)
36” x 72”
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Before They Die (2010)
36” x 72”
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk
$5,500

 

From the Series: The Black Wall Street Massacre 1921  
Greenwood (2010)
Digital Collage on 16mm Habotai Silk
45" X 45"
$7,600

 

Base American Soldiers (2016)
acrylic on canvas
10” X 12"
$4,200

 

Black Inventors Collection: Anna Mangin (2020) 
oil on Linen
60” x 60”
$25,000

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