Kevin Cole, a 48-year-old African-American artist based in Atlanta for 22 years, came to Louisville recently to select the 14th Annual African American Art Exhibit, which opens Tuesday at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Cole said in a telephone interview from his studio that he was familiar with the Louisville event: One of his works was selected to be in it in 1998.

"One of the most important things about the exhibit is it gives African Americans a way to show their work," he said.

That said, Cole added that this aspect of the exhibit is not all that is important.

There has been "a big surge" in "market respect" of African-American art in the past 10 years. Cole pointed to the example of African-American artist Kara Walker, who is lauded as, simply, a contemporary American artist exploring race and gender, identity, violence and propriety with takeoffs on the Victorian black silhouette.

"All of a sudden, the content of work by African-American artists is OK," he said

"Kentucky Arcana," a print by artist UPFROMSUMDIRT from Midway, Ky., will be part of the 14th Annual African American Art Exhibit at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Cole counts "a lot of ballplayers," such as Michael Jordan and Darrell Walker, among his 750 collectors, also including the Yale University Art Gallery; Tampa Museum; Corcoran Gallery Museum in Washington, D.C.; the Dayton (Ohio) Institute of Art; and the College Board of New York City.

It used to be, Cole said, that black artists "were not able to show (in the mainstream art world) if it was specific 'black content.' " That no longer necessarily is true. And the opposite side of the coin, that a black artist could be "too white" and yet "too black," is shifting, as well.

"Adara, Exalted One," a linocut/woodcut by Delita S. Martin from Indianapolis, also will be featured.

Cole pointed to the rising interest in Norman Lewis, an African-American abstract expressionist who was all but ignored by the mainstream in his lifetime but is now gaining momentum.

"There are a lot of things happening right now that are good," Cole said. "The value of African-American work is increasing. The young African Americans are starting to understand they want to be a part of history."

One of the reasons it is happening, he said, is exemplified by his life: "My father was a mortician. My mother was a cafeteria manager. I grew up looking at pictures of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy. My kids are looking at pictures (by) Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden."

Despite his father's skepticism, Cole said he makes a living at art. In fact, he is very busy.

His resume lists not only collectors but also some of his 41 awards in art: his 30 fellowships and grants and 23 teaching awards. He figures he has judged at least 30 exhibitions and has sat on at least 60 panels for artist grants. He has been represented in more than 400 exhibits in the past five years.

"If I chose to leave (teaching), I could live off my work," Cole said. "My show of 41 pieces in Chicago in 2005 sold out. It's not the idea that I have to -- I want to teach."

It started by accident at the University of Arkansas, where he was a major in advertising and design. A group of noisy high school kids visited the college gallery. Cole's professor told him, "Go over and get them quiet." Cole said he began to talk about "what I liked to talk about in high school -- sports, relationship situations." He said his professor pulled him aside later and said, "You know, you would really make a good teacher."

Cole went on to earn two graduate degrees, one in art education from the University of Illinois at Champaign and a master of fine arts from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

Since 1986, he has been teacher of the year locally, regionally and statewide, as well as art educator of the year in 2004 for the Southeast. He is a consultant for the College Board at Savannah College of Art and chairman of the visual arts magnet department at Westlake High School, both in Atlanta.

"Art is very important," he said. "Why are we behind India and Japan? They develop creative thinkers. We do not. We are not teaching (our students) to think outside the box."

That is why, Cole said, "The importance of the (Louisville) show is not just that it is an African-American show. It's not just an opportunity for African Americans. It's another avenue (for creative thinking).

"I thought it was a lot of good work," he said. "Very, very diverse in terms of photography, sculpture and mixed media. It was very interesting for me. It took me a while to pick the selection. I'm looking for the best work. I went through the work seven times before I chose.

"Good art is good art. It's about good composition, good ideas. Judging a 'black art show' is not different from judging a 'white show.' ... The primary colors of red, yellow and blue are all over the world," Cole said.

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