From April 5 through 30, 2010, the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery in the Department of Textiles, Clothing & Design will host the exhibition “The Black Ocean: Europe-Africa-America” featuring appliqued banner narratives documenting the complicated history of the infamous “triangle trade,” created by French artist William Wilson. The Paris-based multi-media artist will be on campus from April 7 through 15, and will present a free public talk in the Home Economics building, room 11, on Suday April 11 at 2:00 pm preceding a gallery reception in his honor. All members of the CEHS, UNL and Nebraks communities are invited. The “Black Ocean: Europe-Africa-America” is Wilson’s homage to his ancestors and his reflection on humanity and its capacity for both great achievement and nobility, and the basest horror and depravity. A painter, printmaker, sculptor, author and illustrator, Wilson recently journeyed to West Africa where, over a period of two years, he worked with artisans in Abomey, Benin to create a series of eighteen applique fabric panels interpreting the historical narratives of the peoples of West Africa and of the traffic in human cargo that crossed oceans and generations. These powerful textiles bear witness to the richness of African culture and symbolism and complex histories that interweave in reconstructing the African diaspora. The exhibition is supported in part by funding provided by the Nebraska Arts Council, the Friends of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, and UNL’s Departments of Textiles, Clothing & Design and Modern Languages. Additional support facilitating the artist’s interface with Lincoln Public Schools teachers and students is provided by Arts Are Basic. The following link leads to more information about the project at William Wilson’s dual language website: http://www.williamwilson.fr/ww/index.php/L-ocean-noir/ .