Art & Soul Records

Biography of Ann Zelle and History of Art & Soul

Ann Zelle is a photographer, sculptor, and educator. Born in Springfield, Illinois, she attended Mount Holyoke College and went on to study art at the Pius XII Institute in Florence, Italy. Upon her return, she researched and interned at the Newark Museum within their graduate program in museum studies. A surge in radical and culture politics following the Newark Riot of 1967 marked her time at the museum and greatly influenced her democratizing approach to art and museum administration.

After her graduate program ended, Ann traveled around the southern states until, in 1968, the Museum of Contemporary Art hired Ann to work with the Conservative Vice Lords, Inc. (CVL) to organize and fund Art & Soul. Formerly the Lawndale gang known as the Vice Lords, the CVL formed when the group’s leadership became concerned about the destructive influence of gang violence on West Side youth. As the Conservative Vice Lords, Inc., they sought to avert the cycle of violence by cultivating small business networks and creating educational opportunities for young people. Art & Soul (usually capitalized to ART & SOUL) was born out of this mission.

Over the course of the program’s run, Ann worked closely with the director of Art & Soul, Jackie Hetherington; his brother, Daniel Hetherington, who worked as the assistant director; art instructors Peter Gilbert and Theophilus Clay; James Houlihan, their contact person with the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission; and Jan van der Marck, the director of the MCA. Together with the CVL, they brought in local plumbers, electricians, and carpenters to transform two dilapidated storefronts into a gallery space, a workshop, and a free library. Once finished, Art & Soul served as a point of artistic and cultural exchange and as an educational and affirmative space for West Side residents (particularly children).

The project was unable to garner the funding needed to extend its life, and it disbanded in 1969. Ann went on to work with the American Association of Museums and served as the head of the International Council of Museums American branch. She later became head of the Photography Program at American University, and she currently serves as an associate professor emerita in the university’s School of Communication. As of 2019, she resides in North Carolina.