A Unified Community | jacksonville.com

A Unified Community jacksonville.com

Written by Lee McDonald

Annelies Dykgraaf is an artist who continues to inspire me because she produces work that reflects a vision that I believe in and because she lives a life that makes a difference in our community. She is truly an artist that does not see color; at least not in the way that most of us do. She was born in the Nigerian revolution to American missionary parents, her mother worked throughout her career in a particular language within a specific tribal group. Her father worked as together they gave their lives to a people making a difference in a community different from the one that they grew up in.


Annelies is one of the founders of the Art Center Cooperative here in Jacksonville; I remember an early organizational meeting in a home in Arlington where ideas were shared from different generations and different races for getting started on building something new that would be a cooperative effort where artists could gather and express new ideas. Annelies is this month's featured artist at one of the two galleries the Art Center currently runs. The exhibition is called "Touch;" the focus is on the importance of touch across the racial divide that in itself will produce a community cohesion that brings new and exciting opportunities for all those who share the space.