LAWRENCE, Kan. — Papercut artist Rosa Leff visited Lawrence for only the second time this weekend to debut her exhibit at the Lawrence Arts Center.
The arts center found Leff, who is known for creating cityscape papercuts, online and asked her to create papercuts of Lawrence.
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“Not having any personal connection to Lawrence, I wasn’t sure what the story was going to be when I first started," Leff said. "And I started doing my research online and people were just so excited to tell me what they knew, and I met so many local historians like Jeanne Klein.”
Leff began working with the retired University of Kansas professor to tell the little-known Black history of Lawrence.
“There are just so many fascinating stories ... as Rosa has said, there are ordinary people who are extraordinary,” Klein said.
Brickwork, porches and Massachusetts Street buildings capture the ordinary essence of Lawrence, including Leff's favorite: a historic house at 520 Louisiana St.
“I had a mother and daughter who came in during the opening yesterday and I hear them go, ‘That’s my house, that’s my house,'" Leff said.
The duo resides in what was Mary Jane "Mamie" Dillard's lifelong home. She was the only Black graduate of Lawrence High School in 1892 and later taught Langston Hughes.
As a previous educator, Leff felt connected to Mamie's story.
"I taught Kindergarten for eight years, and she was very instrumental in helping to get the new school for Black students built in 1914," Leff said.
The exhibit is all about informing the community of its predecessors.
“Whether it’s being a grocer or a local attorney," Leff said.
Leroy E. Harris was a Black attorney and WWI veteran who was murdered by one of his clients outside his office in 1954. The building now houses the burger joint known as Jefferson's.
“I don’t think we need to stop and take a moment of silence every time we walk past it, but it’s important to think about it as we walk by or as we stop in and grab that burger," Leff said.
Leff's exhibit is open to the public until July 27.
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