Urbana native to be Allerton Park’s next artist-in-residence

MONTICELLO, Ill. (WCIA) — Allerton Park & Retreat Center offers a unique opportunity for select artists to live on the estate and explore creatively. For their next artist-in-residence, Allerton is welcoming an Urbana native.

Lemareyè Jones is a visual artist and photographer. He also owns Glo & Glory , under which he will soon publish his own magazine. His artistic focus currently centers on West African culture and the clash of technology and nature.

Jones started taking photos five years ago, and expanded on his craft during the COVID lockdowns.

“COVID was pretty much what made me decide to go deeper into it,” he said. “It started as a hobby, but that’s when I started taking pictures of anything I felt like. I also started watching a lot of movies, and that was kind of the motivation for doing photography; one day I want to make my own productions and direct movies and short films.”

Though he is now based in Chicago, Jones has roots in Central Illinois as a Class of 2015 Urbana High School alum.

“I want to depict my community as a Black person and depict my community as a midwestern young man and talk about life and mental health and spiritual awareness,” he said.

Now, Jones will return to the Central Illinois area on July 26 for a three-week treat at Allerton in Monticello. While there, he plans to photograph pieces of technology in a natural setting to inspire thoughtful discussion on “how technology is kind of overcoming nature, and how we use technology to colonize different areas.”

Allerton Senior Event Coordinator Olivia Bunting said a community outreach event is also being planned for Jones’ residency and his works.

The residency is part of Allerton’s Rooting a Deeper Connection , which launched in 2022 and showcases pieces from Black and Latin American artists. That includes musicians, writers and playwrights.

“The Rooting a Deeper Connection residency has been able to bring artists of so many backgrounds to the park, along with their cultures and traditions,” Bunting said. “By providing a residency for Black and Latinx voices, we are bringing new perspectives, traditions and backgrounds to the park as well as the whole community.”

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