DEARBORN – Dual love of the arts and teaching have inspired Charles Alexander his entire life. Last week, Alexander, 69, was honored for his contributions to both of his loves at the eighth annual Recognition Awards for Arts & Culture, hosted by the Wayne County Council for Arts History and Humanities.
Alexander was one of eight artists and patrons honored at the event, which focused on the artistic achievements and contributions of people in greater Detroit.
Alexander started his academic career in the Detroit Public Schools and spent most of his working life in the same school system as a teacher and an administrator. He retired in 1997 as the creative head of the Curriculum Lab, which served Detroit teachers by bringing their classrooms and subject matter to life with film, visual aids and audio presentations.
"My first position in the 1970s was – of all teaching challenges – auditorium," Alexander told the crowd of about 250 people. "Six classes a day of approximately 60 to 70 students. The position was for six months. I met the challenge by falling back on all I had learned at Harry Burns Hutchins Intermediate School auditorium; how to deliver a speech, how to act in a play, how to listen to music, and how to be a more creative person."
Alexander told the audience that he returned to his art after letting it lie dormant for many years, and that he used it as a source of solace while recovering from alcohol abuse. He was equally open and honest about being gay.
"As part of my own extended therapy I've learned to share my art by giving it to friends, and sometimes strangers, as gifts and by donating it for fund-raisers," said Alexander. "As a member of Detroit's gay/lesbian/transgender community I feel a deep sense of commitment to enriching our community and to building bridges of understanding with others. Art is, and always has been, a catalyst for change."
Alexander has received numerous other awards for his work in the LGBT community including the Spirit of Detroit Award and the 1997 Lifetime Achievement Pride Award. In 2005, he was invited to participate in the Florence, Italy Biennael Contemporanea Dell'Arte Exhibition.
His artistic abilities extend to the written word as well. His Parting Glances column has appeared in Between The Lines every week since 1999.
BTL writer out and open as Art Educator Of the Year
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