SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — When Ibiyinka Olufimi Alao was growing up in Nigeria, his father tasked him to go out and gather fireflies.
The boy complied, and proudly presented his father with a jar filled with tiny winged beetles, sometimes called lightning bugs or glowworms.
Alao, who was 7 years old, wasn’t prepared for the reaction of his father, who demanded — Now, my son, let them go.
It took many years, but Alao finally realized the wisdom of his father’s dictate.
“What my father was trying to teach me was that if I loved anything or anyone as much as I loved the fireflies, the best thing was to let them go free,” he said at the opening of his art exhibition at the Art Space gallery on the campus of Penn State-Schuylkill.
The dignity of freedom would become the credo by which Alao, winner of the United Nations International Award for Art in 2001, would paint – and live.
Ibiyinka Alao’s signature on one of his painting in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
It’s the inspiration for “Eternity In Our Hearts,” the centerpiece of the inaugural Art Space exhibition, and a companion book, “My Fireflies: Memories of My Childhood.”
Alao, 50, who lives in North Union Twp., told a crowd at the recent opening of the exhibition he devoted the painting to the spirit of an African fable that says: In the darkness of night, fireflies rise to become stars.
Art Space dedicated
Surrounded by a group of public officials and Penn State staffers, Lisa Robinson snipped a red ribbon to open the gallery on Jan. 22.
Robinson, who teaches business, co-chairs Art Space with D.J. Higgins, who teaches film at the campus.
Robert S. Carl Jr., president of the school’s advisory board, moderated the dedication of the gallery in a building that once housed the university library.
A ribbon cutting for the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
“This space celebrates emerging talent, and reflects the cultural heartbeat of our community,” said Carl, Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.
State Rep. Jamie Barton, R-124, suggested the drive to open the gallery was rooted in the same spirit that kept the PSU-Schuylkill Campus open amid the closing of other satellite campuses.
“Why do we fight for something like this?” he asked. “Because it’s not just for students and faculty, it’s for the entire community.”
State Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Schuylkill County Commissioners Larry Padora and Gary J. Hess, also made congratulatory remarks. Aides to U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser and State Sen. David G. Argall also participated.
Dr. John N. Mellon donated sheet music from venerable Prof. James Beach’s classes and other items to the gallery in honor of his parents, John and Margaret Mellon of Morea.
A Schuylkill Campus alumnus, Mellon teaches business at Misericordia University.
John Mellon stands with the Art Space plaque dedicated to his parents John and Margaret in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Fireflies burn brightly
Alao, whose art is a reflection of his West African roots, is known for his use of vibrant colors on large canvases.
“Eternity In Our Hearts,” an 18-foot-long allegory that takes up an entire wall in the gallery isn’t even his largest painting.
Ibiyinka Alao talks about the painting behind him called “Eternity in our Hearts (My Fireflies)” in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
His 100-foot-long work, one of the world’s largest paintings on a single canvas, is on exhibit at the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center in Jim Thorpe.
“My use of color is a reflection of joy,” said Alao, who traces his penchant for vibrancy to the influence of the Sun on West African culture.
Alao’s painting style has been compared to Pablo Picasso’s, particularly in their abstraction and use of color. It is apparent in a self-portrait, “Myself As An Individual” that’s part of the PSU exhibition.
Alao has had exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York. He also showed his work at the Walk In Art Center in Schuylkill Haven and Martz Hall in Pottsville.
He discussed his painting “The Music Party,” which he calls “silent music,” at a luncheon with the Schuylkill Haven Lions Club at the Schuylkill campus.
Known as “Ibi” to friends, the artist performed his song “My Firefly” with spouse, Kaila Alao, at the Art Space opening. She is president and executive director of the Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center.
In part, accompanied by her husband on a xylophone, she sang:
“Fireflies, you’re so fine. You bloom brightly like the flowers. You remind me of the future I have seen, in my dreams.”
The exhibition will be at Art Space through Feb. 27. Plans are under way for Alao to visit the campus in February, Black History Month. Dates are to be announced.
Information about the artist’s work can be found at ibiyinka.com.
John Mellon and Steve Debuski look at a painting by Ibiyinka Alao in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
People mingle in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
People check out art by Ibiyinka Alao in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Paintings hang on the wall in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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John Mellon and Steve Debuski look at a painting by Ibiyinka Alao in the Art Space in the Classroom Building at Penn State Schuylkill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)