Dr. Joan Fobbs, noted curator of art from Childersburg, was the presenter for the Oxford Arts Council’s Arts and Culture Series on Monday, February 23, 2026, at the Oxford Performing Arts Center’s Martin-Lett Gallery.

Fobbs retired after a 36-year career in education, received her doctorate from Ohio State University, and has curated art shows in six different states, as well as volunteering in several galleries and museums.

Fobbs’ subject was the artwork of Titouan Lamazou, a native of Morocco who was a world champion ocean racer until he began working in the arts full-time in 1993.

Named "UNESCO Artist for Peace" in 2003, he produced numerous portraits of women between 2001 and 2007 for his project Zoé-Zoé, Femmes du Monde. Since then, he has been actively involved in charities defending the rights of women and children around the world.

It is his series of works titled, “Portraits of Resilience Amidst Conflict,” images of women who live in countries experiencing war, violence, and instability, that were Fobb’s subject for the evening.

She described how, in his travels, Lamazou would try to blend in with the people he met from Mali to Central America, and interview his subjects at great peril and in secret.

Fobb said Lamazou’s compassion for the women he met and how they had to live inspired him to establish a foundation to provide support for many of the women and their families.

“How he managed to get into the hearts, minds, and lives of those different people is just phenomenal,” Fobb said. “I have to really applaud him for that.”

The portraits are currently on loan to the Martin-Lett Gallery from a private collector and are available to view at no charge in the gallery, which is located adjacent to the OPAC lobby, Tuesdays – Fridays from noon until 5 p.m., and during all OPAC events. The exhibit runs until the end of March 2026.

A full biography of Lamazou and more about his works can be found in the newest edition of Oxford Access.