Participating Space for FotoFest Biennial March 8th, 2020

“The Eighteenth International FotoFest Biennial 2020, will be held March 8–April 19, 2020. The central program of the citywide festival, AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES—Photography, Time, and the Other, will focus on artists of Africa and its diaspora. Over 100 independent museums, art galleries, non-profit art centers, and corporate spaces will participate in the FotoFest Biennial 2020 by presenting photographic work and photography-centered events during the festival’s six weeks. These Participating Spaces are important aspects of the city-wide festival.” *
DaVinci Artists Gallery of Tomball is proud to announce they will be one of the Participating Spaces in FotoFest Biennial 2020.
Diasporas: African-American Migration to Tomball, Texas, a small German settlement
​During the mid-1800s, The Houston and Texas Railroad ran near the Tomball area on its way from Houston, Cypress, and Hempstead towards Navasota. Joseph Lakey, one of many African-Americans working for the railroad, took note of the lush farmland around the small settlement of Peck (later becoming the town of Tomball). 
On October 17, 1890, Joseph bought thirty-four acres located at 24747 and 24751 Stanolind Road (East side of present-day Tomball) from A. H. Stuebner. The family soon became members of the Salem Methodist Church located in Hufsmith, Texas.
Joseph lived the remainder of his life railroading and farming his thirty-four acres with his wife, Mary, and their nine children. The Lakey family continued to farm their land long after Joseph died in 1904. Three years after his death the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad would build a depot in Tomball.
 As the children grew older, the property would be divided among them. Joseph’s grandson, Hillard Lakey, began working for the Klein family in their feed store and funeral homes. As the years passed, many family members continued to work in the Klein family businesses and with the Klein family as housekeepers and nannies. Today a portion of the land still remains in the family. The Lakey family, like many other African-American families, has made an impact on their community through military service, church, and business.
The exhibit will include video interviews along with photographs from the past and pictures of the descendants of Tomball’s early African-American families. DaVinci Artists Gallery will bring their story to the FotoFest audience. 
Gallery hours: Wednesday 1:30-5; Thursday-Saturday 10-5; Fresh Art Reception March 14, 5-8. DaVinci exhibition will run March 10-April 4. For After Hours Appointments please check the website: www.davinciartistsgallery.com. 
*Reference: FotoFest Biennial 2020-AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES – Photography.