Chicago artist creates dolls telling the stories of the Great Migration
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Great Migration brought a half-million people to Chicago from the south, each with different hopes, dreams, skills and backgrounds.
One South Side artist, Rhonda Hardy, is telling some of those stories through a series of dolls called "Bronzeville Babies."
"They always have earrings. They always have jewelry on," Hardy said.
Inside her colorful art studio on the South Side, Hardy gave new life to decades-old stories.
"What you see around the studio is really a manifestation of the dreams that a 12-year-old girl had," she said.
Her project, Bronzeville Babies, is a collection of eight dolls that tell the stories of the neighborhood. She made each by hand, a process where the hours add up.
"I would say about 20 [hours], yeah," Hardy said.
She started the series in 2016 for the Great Migration Centennial celebration but said it was the culmination of a lifetime of learning and questioning why some stories didn't make it into her childhood history books.
"Just something in my mind said something's not right about this picture," Hardy said.
Her collection includes characters and interests that came from specific time periods and backgrounds. They emphasize the role of faith, style, entertainment, and activism.
"He's a Black Panther ... I fashioned him after a friend, and now he's a minister," she said of one of the dolls.
Perhaps the most recognizable doll is her rendition of a Pullman Porter who, like the rest of the dolls, came with a name and backstory.
"I found that stories are really good to engage," she said.
Hardy said when people get to know the dolls, they often share their own stories back, each one becoming a new possible story for her collection.
"I mean this is what I spend my time doing and I just love it," she said. "I really, really do."
In order to share the stories, Hardy did occasionally open up her studio space and she will do so again on Saturday, Feb. 17.
