BLACK MAGIC IMPACT IN AMERICA - FROM DOLLS TO SWIMMING TO DANCING
We had an amazing reception to our year-long Black Arts in America project, and we are so happy to reveal that we are reprising the closing concert - BLACK DANCE IN AMERICA - but with local performers who will be sharing the journey of the arts from Mother Africa to the Caribbean Islands and throughout The Americas. Join us on January 29, 2023 @ 4:00 pm at Darkhorse Theater!
BLACK ARTS IN AMERICA: Exploring What the American Arts Scene Would Look Like
without the Contributions, Influences, and Aesthetics of Mother Africa and African Americans
Black Arts in America is a public humanities project that explores the many ways that Black Arts traditions, from Mother Africa to The Americas, have influenced the overall arts scene in America, examining artist traditions that might be nonexistent without this influence. This exploration spans the arts, including literary, visual and performing arts as well as documentary films and ongoing Black History lessons, tracing the important role these diverse arts play in survival, resilience, and overcoming social constructs as well as in the arts ecosystem of our nation. As we lead community participants through this survey of Black Arts, we will ponder together what life would be like without these important traditions and their influences on literature, poetry, music, dance, and other creative forces in the U. S. and in Latin America. We will explore together the way struggles and life experiences affect the manner in which values, beliefs, and traditions of individuals and entire societies evolve in their efforts to survive, thrive, and express themselves, using the arts as a vehicle for that expression. Over a period of 10 months, this project presents a range of discussions, readings, workshops, films, performances, and exhibitions, exploring topics such as Black Dance in America, Music of Oppression and Survival, Stories of Our Ancestors, and Poetry and the African American Experience. A culminating event will be a four-day Black Dance Festival on April 28 - May 1, 2022, and a curriculum guide that can be shared with schools in conjunction with related workshops, residencies, and performances. We invite you to join us in our journey to show the commonalities we all share through our stories and our artistic expression while paying homage to the roots of many artistic and cultural traditions across The Americas.
Many thanks to our sponsors, which include Humanities Tennessee, an affiliate of National Endowment for the Humanities; South Arts; Tennessee Arts Commission; Metro Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Metro Human Relations Commission; Center for Latin American, Caribbean & Latinx Studies; HCA Healthcare/TriStar Health; Black Lives Matter Nashville; Gannett Foundation and USAToday Network. Some of the documentary films are part of Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, a program of South Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, screened this season in partnership with Fisk University. If you wish to join our list of program sponsors, please contact our director at 615-292-3023 or [email protected].
For tickets to our upcoming concert & art exhibit, Sight and Sound, register here.
PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO WEATHER, SIGHT AND SOUND WITH ROD McGAHA WAS POSTPONED TO
THURSDAY, MARCH 17 @ 7:00 PM
PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO WEATHER, SIGHT AND SOUND WITH ROD McGAHA WAS POSTPONED TO
THURSDAY, MARCH 17 @ 7:00 PM
