Working around art isn't just a job for Chanel Cook. It's her passion. As assistant director of the Art Galleries for the past six years, Chanel has skillfully melded her bachelor's degree in fine art with her law degree. "I practiced law briefly, but didn't like it," she said. "I like the work I'm doing now because I'm able to combine art and law."
This year, the University Gallery will host six shows, and last summer presented a juried show, which attracted more than 150 artists. Chanel acts as liaison between the artists and Galleries Director Lorenzo Pace, coordinates scheduling and puts together reference materials for all the shows. Her background in law proves useful when she writes and reviews exhibition contracts, and she also practices art law on the side. But the woman who usually calls the shots is relinquishing control of one major decision-her honeymoon destination. Those plans are in the hands of her fianceé Stephen Chukumba, an attorney who specializes in personal injury and entertainment law, and also teaches part time in Speech Communication. The couple will marry July 1. "I have no idea where we're going and he won't tell me," she said. "But I hope it's Bali. I've always wanted to go there because of the art and the dance, and the culture in general."
A change of environment is one reason Chanel loves her job. "Every few months a different environment is created by new exhibitions," she said, adding that "Projected Visions-Montclair 2000," a collaborative effort between the University and Studio Montclair, is on exhibit in the University Gallery. "This is the first time we've done an exhibit that includes only artists who live and work in Montclair."
Chanel's own art work is being displayed throughout South Africa in the "Box Project" exhibit that depicts slavery's effect on African women's senses of beauty and self. "I had to incorporate the theme of slavery into the work, which would be displayed in boxes," she explained. "The idea was to communicate my ideas to future generations." Despite a busy work schedule and planning for the wedding, Chanel continues to create. "Any artist must make the time to do what they love," she said. "My work is therapeutic for me."