Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South Exhibit

  • Ongoing: until Thursday, August 11, 2011
  • Tuesday: 9:00am
  • Wednesday: 9:00am
  • Thursday: 9:00am
  • Friday: 9:00am
  • Saturday: 9:00am
  • Where: Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Little Rock
  • Cost: Not available
  • Age limit: Not available
Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South Opens at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (MTCC), a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, announces the opening of Southern Journeys: African American Artist of the South on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at 5 p.m. Whether or not they call it home, African American artists of the past century have repeatedly explored their ties to the South. This region may appear in their art as a literal space located below the Mason-Dixon Line or as a “place” of mind, memories, dreams, spirit, history, or culture. Southern Journeys: African Artists of the South opening at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, presents the responses of fifty-four artists to the South through a selection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and mixed-media works. The Cultural Center will have an opening reception on Thursday, February 3, 2011 from 5 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The reception will give visitors a first look at the exhibit and provide entertainment from local jazz artist Rodney Block. The exhibit will be on display until Thursday, August 11, 2011. This event will be held at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, located at 501 West Ninth Street in Little Rock, Arkansas. Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The South is home to a unique concentration of distinctive African American forms which can be seen in the work of the artists in Southern Journeys. The impact of the customs and experiences of everyday life is notable, as is that of African American folk music, art, and religion. African American oral and visual traditions intersect in much of their work, as do the sacred and secular. Musicians, storytellers, singers, dancers, and the black church are key sources of inspiration. Themes from African American history and culture appear frequently, spanning a period from the advent of slavery to the present day. Artists in the exhibition range from the generation maturing in the 1930s to those who came of age in the 1990s and 2000s and include both academically trained and self-taught artists. Among the artists are Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Richmond Barthé, Romare Bearden, Beverly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, David Driskell, Clementine Hunter, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold, and Charles White, and some of Arkansas’s notable African American artist. Southern Journeys is curated by Eloise Johnson, Ph.D., independent curator, Zachary, Louisiana, and Stella Jones, M.D. of the Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans. The exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. Mid-America is the oldest nonprofit regional arts organization in the United States. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org. Since 1975, the Department of Arkansas Heritage has been committed to the discovery, preservation and presentation of our state’s natural and cultural heritage. In addition to the MTCC, the department accomplishes its goals through the work of six other agencies: the Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Historic Arkansas Museum and the Old State House Museum. The Department of Arkansas Heritage Mike Beebe: Governor Cathie Matthews: Director Arkansas Arts Council Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Delta Cultural Center Historic Arkansas Museum Old State House Museum 501 West Ninth Street Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 683-3593 fax: (501) 682-5866 tdd: (501) 324-9811 e-mail: info@mosaictemplarscenter.com website: www.mosaictemplarscenter.com

This event was posted Jan. 24, 2011 and last updated Jan. 24, 2011