Angela M. Rivers facts for kids

Angela M. Rivers was born in 1953 in Champaign, Illinois. She is an amazing African American artist and a curator. A curator is someone who manages and organizes art collections in museums. Angela currently lives in Chicago.

Angela Rivers' Journey

Angela earned her art degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1975. She studied Fine and Applied Arts.

Early Art Projects

In 1978, Angela created a large painting called a mural. This mural was on Fifth and Park Streets in north Champaign. She worked with a group of African American students and people from the community.

From 1978 to 1981, Angela studied the art of Paul Gauguin. She did this at Eastern Illinois University.

Working in Museums

After her studies, Angela moved to Chicago. There, she started working as an art curator. She worked at several important museums:

• The DuSable Museum of African American History
• The Chicago History Museum
• The Art Institute of Chicago

Returning to Illinois

In 2009, Angela was an artist-in-residence at the University of Illinois. This means she was invited to create art there. She worked on a special project to celebrate the anniversary of the mural she made in Champaign.

Angela's uncle, Cecil Dewey Nelson, Jr., was also a visual artist.

Highlighting History

In 2020, Angela helped create the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail. This project is very important. It helps people learn about the history of African Americans in Champaign County. It also shows how they influenced the community.

The project uses different ways to share this history. There is a tour bus that takes people to important places. There is also a website with a list of notable people. These are individuals who helped shape the history of Champaign, Illinois.