DISCUSSION AND EXHIBIT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOLK ARTIST'S WORK TO BE
HELD AT U.VA. WOODSON INSTITUTE

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 10 -- The University of
Virginia's Carter G. Woodson Institute for Afro-American and
African Studies will sponsor an exhibit through Feb. 2 of paintings by
acclaimed Hampton artist Earnest "Bunky" White.
	White, who is known for his powerful portraits of
African-American community life, will discuss his paintings at 3 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 12, in Minor Hall, site of the exhibit.  He will be
joined by Richard Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural
History at U.Va., an avid collector of folk art.
	White, whose painting career was launched during the late
1980s, captures on canvas familiar events, people and places. His
subjects range from tender, playful memories of his childhood
neighborhood to the anguishing problems of homelessness, crime and
hunger.  In documenting his life experiences, White provides insights
into the African-American experience while also creating an intimate
and powerful portrait of a community.
	Wilson has been curator for a number of major museum
exhibitions, among them "The American Renaissance, 1876-1917"
and "The Machine Age in America, 1918-1941," both for the
Brooklyn Museum. Wilson holds an extensive collection of paintings by
twentieth century African-American artists.
	The exhibit and talk are free and open to the public.
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                                                        Dec. 9, 1997
	For more information contact the Carter G. Woodson Institute
for Afro-American and African Studies at (804) 924-3109.  Television
reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.
Information about what's happening at the University of Virginia
can be found at U.Va.'s Top News site, updated daily:
http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/.