Filmmaker George Lucas and Wife Mellody Hobson Donate $25 Million to U of C
The legacy of photographer, film director, musician, and social justice advocate, Gordon Parks, was honored with a $25 million donation from filmmaker George Lucas and his new wife, Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Investments, to support construction of a new arts hall at the University of Chicago (U of C) Laboratory Schools that will be named after Parks.
“This generous grant will amplify the role of the arts within the core of the distinctive education offered by the Laboratory Schools, and create new opportunities for imagining the role of the arts within the curriculum,” said U of C President Robert J. Zimmer. “Naming the arts hall for Gordon Parks, who had roots in Chicago, resonates deeply with the mission of the schools. We are very grateful to Mellody and George for this extraordinary support, which will have an impact for generations to come.”
Funding was provided from The George Lucas Family Foundation.
“It was important to us that the University of Chicago campus, have a building named for an African American, given the diverse community in which it sits, and the outstanding contributions to our society by people of color,” said Hobson.
Set to open in 2015 on the schools’ Hyde Park campus, The Gordon Parks Arts Hall will support programs in theater, music and the visual arts with three new performance halls, studios, rehearsal and practice rooms, a digital media lab, and more.
According to information from Biography.com, Parks was born Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks on Nov. 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas and purchased his first camera at the age 25. He moved to Chicago in 1940 where he took his award-winning, photographs of low-income, black neighborhoods.
Parks worked for Vogue magazine for a number of years, developing a distinctive style that emphasized the look of models and garments in motion, rather than in static poses.
After relocating to Harlem, Parks continued documenting city images and characters while working in the fashion industry. His 1948 photography essay on a Harlem gang leader won Parks a position as a staff photographer for LIFE magazine, the nation's highest-circulation photographic publication, a position he held for 20 years, producing photographs on subjects including fashion, sports and entertainment as well as poverty and racial segregation. He also took portraits of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael and Muhammad Ali.
Parks launched a writing career during this period, beginning with his 1962 autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree and published a number of books throughout his lifetime, including a memoir, several works of fiction and volumes on photographic technique.
In 1969, Parks became the first African American to direct a major Hollywood movie, the film adaptation of The Learning Tree. He wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the film.
Parks's next film, Shaft, was one of the biggest box-office hits of 1971. Starring Richard Roundtree as detective John Shaft, the movie inspired a genre of “Blaxploitation” films.
Parks died of cancer at age 93 in New York City, 2006.
“We believe in the power of art to transform lives and communities,” said Lucas. “Gordon Parks’ work did just that. Keeping his example at the heart of one of the nation’s outstanding urban schools will serve to inspire future generations for many years to come.”
The George Lucas Family Foundation grant marks the conclusion of the Lab+ Campaign, which raised $80 million in support of the Laboratory Schools, surpassing the original $40 million goal.
“The generosity of Mellody Hobson and George Lucas is a perfect example of the deep commitment made by so many supporters of the Laboratory Schools during this landmark campaign,” said John W. Rogers Jr., chairman, CEO and CIO of Ariel Investments; chairman of the Laboratory Schools Board of Trustees; and a 1976 graduate of the schools. “We are grateful to Mellody, George and all those who have contributed at every level.”
David Magill, director of the Lab schools, said the campaign, launched in 2007, will enhance every aspect of the Lab experience—ensuring that the schools continue to attract extraordinarily talented students and faculty, and support their best work.
“The Gordon Parks Arts Hall reflects how much our community cares about providing opportunity and inspiration for students, now and long into the future,” Magill said.
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