The gallery of the De Pree Art Center at HopeCollege will feature the traveling exhibition "A Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art" from Monday, Jan. 12, through Friday, Feb. 6.

The exhibition was organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and guest curated by Bogumil Jewsiewicki.

Jewsiewicki will deliver a guest lecture on Friday, Jan. 16, at 4 p.m. in the Cook Auditorium of the De Pree Art Center.  A reception will follow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The public is invited to both the reception and the exhibition.  Admission is free.

"A Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art" features Congolese urban art, or popular painting, that portrays the life and tragic death of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Congo after its independence from Belgium in 1960. He was assassinated in January 1961 after being forced out of office.  The exhibition consists of approximately 90 works, including a series of nearly 50 paintings by Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu, an influential artist of the 1970s, and a number of recent works by other Congolese contemporary artists who emulated his style.

Jewsiewicki holds the nationally endowed Canada Research chair in comparative history at Laval University of Quebec, Canada, and is an expert in the history of the Congo and Congolese folk art.  He is also the author of several books on French-speaking African history and politics.

The De Pree Art Center is located at 160 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. The regular gallery hours are Mondays through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Gallery hours may be reduced during breaks and holidays. The gallery is handicapped accessible.