Ever since San Francisco's Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) opened up nearly 2 years ago, the institution, under the leadership of exective director V. Denise Bradley, has been producing impressive exhibitions that explore the myraid cultures of the African diaspora. Additionally, MoAD has been continuously collaborating with Bay Area organizations and institutions and producing well-rounded community oriented events.
This May MoAD and the San Francisco International Arts Festival will team up and present the San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF) Film Series. Curated by Ave Montague, director of the San Francisco Black Film Festival, the line up of movies spans an array of the best films from the Continent to the Americas. Some of the titles include last year's Academy Award winner Tsotsi, a screen adaptation of the novel by Athol Fugard, that tells the story of a young man who after his mother dies of HIV-related complications, flees his home in Johannesburg because of an abusive father, only to be caught up in a whirlwind of complicated events--including involuntary kidnapping of a 3-month-old child.
Another film is La Rebelle (The Rebel), which is set in Haiti and retells the story of a young girl who rebels against her father when she finds him with a new woman in his life. Her campaign includes drinking, drugs, and promiscuity, but ends on a surprising note.
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Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center
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The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
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Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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University of Nebraska at Lincoln, International Quilt Study Center
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Whitney Museum of American Art
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Guggenheim Foundation (Museum)
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Sotheby's Inc.
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The Joan Mitchell Foundation (NYC)
A while back, Code Z hipped you to Obsidian Arts, Inc. right here. Well Our Minnesotan friends are at it again.
Curator and artist Christopher-Aaron Deanes has selected visual, performance, and spoken word artists to give shape life to Afro Cuba: Cognoscenti. Presented at O.A.I., Afro Cuba (on display through June 30) adds to the never-ending narrative that is the African Diaspora.
Contemporarily known as a political football and as the home of revolutionaries and well-crafted cigars, Cuba also represents yet another view of the cultural mystic brew that merging the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe birthed. The complexities created while trying to hash out spiritual, personal, and political freedoms washed upon U.S. shores in the guise of literary, culinary, visual, and performance arts; all of which are invaluable pieces of the American tapestry.
With contributions from visual artists Daniel Alvarez, Luis ‘El Estudiante’ Rodríguez, Lidia Ester Aguilera Sanchez, Yopiz Martinez, poet Clyde Fraser, and dancers Rene Thompson and Pamela Plagge; the work generated in celebration and contemplation of the country’s history is likely to take on the robust complexion of a good café cubano.
Afro Cuba includes an artists discussion (May 14th) and an Afro Cuban History panel (May 26th). So, if you find yourself in the area, check out the show and let Code Z know what you think.
We at Code Z had to prevent ourselves from pulling out our red, black and green liberation jumpsuits that we had been saving for such an event after hearing about The Revolution Will Not Be Curated: Twenty-First Century Perspectives on Art and Politics, The Museum of Modern Art’s Third Annual Graduate Symposium. But since Roy Wilkins and Amiri Baraka are not scheduled presenters, we can save our jumpsuits for another time.
The symposium, held at MoMA April 13 through 14, explores the evolving relationship between art, media, and politics highlighting the attempts of artists past and present to imbibe politics within their work to promote awareness and create a context for societal ills. Six graduates, selected from an international applicant pool, will present their papers on a range of topics including: architecture, drawing, film, mixed media painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture. While in the past, artists grappled with avant-garde versus mass appeal, emerging artists, as well as institutions, are lending a voice or lens to the growing distaste for the global economic, political, and social environment.
Although the concept of fusing art with politics is a far cry from being fresh, we have noticed several recent subversive exhibits such as Comic Abstraction: Image-Breaking, Image-Making, Just Kick it Till it Breaks, and Free Chocolate to name just a few.
The symposium is open to the public.
In our ongoing hats-off to our outstanding volunteers, Code Z is happy to acknowledge the contributions of Halima Adams, a mainstay Code Z writer and outreach coordinator.
Halima came to Code Z when our managing editor, Makeba, contacted her about the position. She describes herself as a "victim of the suburbs," and grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. She spent her undergrad years at Florida A & M, studying public relations.
Halima’s style of writing is a stream of consciousness; she looks at the information and then starts typing. With Code Z she is able to write without the pressures of more formal publications. Halima says that she starts with a basic skeleton with social commentary, then constructs something that the reader can take in, ponder, and then do something about.
Halima considers herself an outsider within the art community, balancing the roles of creator and appreciator, which she hopes will bridge the divide between the traditional, exclusive art audiences and "the people."
Ultimately, Halima's interests are in development and exchange--cultural, professional, and artistic. She feels that small things can catapult a community into greatness. She believes in the power and pace of things done on a small basis, which add up, piece by piece, day by day.
Faculty - Visual Culture/Critical Studies
College for Creative Studies (Detroit)
Program Manager, Public and Community Programs
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis)
Development Associate
COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts; St. Paul, MN)
Senior Designer
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Development Administrative Coordinator
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
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Association of Hispanic Arts
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Collaborative Arts Project 21 (NYC)
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Georgia Department of Transportation
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Trace Foundation
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San Francisco Arts Commission
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Art for Change (NYC)
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Foundation Center, Washington, DC
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Phillips Collection (Washington, DC)
We keep saying that Code Z would be impossible without a slew of volunteers and helping hands. So we thought the least we could do was give a little back and showcase the outstanding volunteers that make this little digital rag possible. Our first tip of the hat goes to writer Drék Davis.
Drék was introduced to Code Z at Eyedrum, an alternative Atlanta art space. He later approached Code Z founder Cinqué Hicks about the publication and the rest is history.
Drék's background includes fine art training in drawing and painting, and music, which ranges from formal training as a saxophonist to digital music production. His portfolio of graphic design features logos for Peabody Awards affiliated sites, the Georgia Museum of Art, and illustrations for ColorLines and POOR Magazine.
His writing style is a little hip-hop and a little academic. He tailors his pieces so that he does justice to the story and issues being covered, then he makes sure the material is digestible, interesting, and entertaining to the reader, who may be steeped in art history or just your average Jo (Anne). He delivers without condescending. He writes for the people and in doing so is able to broaden his audience.
Drék uses his Code Z writing as an intellectual exercise that combines two of his loves: writing and art. The assignments also expose him to artists and ideas that he would not have considered or my have forgotten.
His aim is a career in arts administration with a creative niche that will fill his need for balance and challenge. As for his studio work, he has no illusions about being famous. When it’s all said and done, he wants to perpetuate a dialogue through the work by curating powerful, thought-provoking shows, and creating work that happily breaks out of the “white wall” aesthetic.
Code Z decided to check up on what's happening with the arts scene across the Atlantic. Destination: Cairo on the occasion of the Forty-Ninth World Press Photo Awards (WPPA) this past February. The WPPA is the largest press photography competition that promotes photojournalism. The festivities also include an exhibition of the most riveting photography of 2005/06. It's a tremendous gathering of photographers; more than 180 images were on view, which is just a small percentage of the 83 thousand images in the collection, created by 4,500 photographers representing 122 countries.
This event was hosted in conjunction with the Contemporary Image Collective, which is Cairo's only independent and artist helmed center. Hosting such a prestigious event is proof that the Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) has juice indeed, but what's really hot is that the CIC is an institution going against the grain; this institution is currently fueling a renaissance of traditional photography in Cairo. As digital photography grows in popularity and accessibility, the CIC has a campaign to educate photographers and photo enthusiasts about traditional silver based printing. Their darkrooms are open to the public free of charge three times a week, although you have to BYOC (bring your own chemicals). There are also cheap courses on printing fundamentals. Traditional photography is seemingly becoming a vintage art form, with darkrooms closing their doors around the world and companies like Kodak discontinuing products that are integral to silver gelatin prints. We're glad to see some in Cairo going back to the roots of the artform.
From barbershops to the boulevard, brothers drop knowledge and build bridges. And from now until July 29, three artists will be expanding those convo's at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Street Level: Mark Bradford, William Cordova and Robin Rhode offers up a contemporary take on the inner-city griot. However, this city could be in any country with an assortment of cloned B-boys and thug wannabes populating street corners. Curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, Street Level brings together three heavyweight emerging artists to rep their respective 'hoods (the U.S.A., Africa, and Peru) and creative sensibilities (drawing, painting, performance, mixed media assemblage).
The power of this show, other than the hot-hot heat that the three bring to Durham, is the further proof of our hyper-connected world via popular culture and urbanization. Viewing the trunk-rattling speaker boxes, vinyl, graffiti, and found objects depicted/utilized in Bradford's, Cordova's, and Rhode's work, it's hard not to hear the sounds of the city; sounds of the past, present and future. Echoing the sentiments of Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock, Gary Simmons erasure drawings, and David Hammons' multi-medium body of work, Street Level resurrects and gives voice to the (in)tangible remnants from which the artists draw their inspiration.
As the show suggests, our culture is as common as the streets we prowl. From the four ends of the Earth, down on the corner, and out in the street there is a whisper of beauty and invisibility that resonates across borders. Planet Rock--on that other level.
All too often, men--especially men of color--are given the broad-brush treatment. Viewing such men as monolithic and driven by basest instincts, some in society have to be reminded that Black men can actually form meaningful relationships. Where better than the City of Brotherly Love to explore the camaraderie of Black manhood? And what better messenger than prolific photographer Jamel Shabazz?
Widely known on the hip-hop culture documentation set, Shabazz's current exhibition, Men Of Honor: Photography by Jamel Shabazz is on display at the African American Museum in Philadelphia through June 24. In a time when popular culture depicts young men as either hyper masculine, anti-intellectual, and ambivalent (or a combination thereof), Men Of Honor is a welcome departure. A collection of attentive and caring photographs of men, across age groups, dialoguing and making eye contact suggests that the future isn't as bleak as the TV talking heads want us to believe.
While others spin tales of violence and woe, Shabazz, a former corrections officer, reminds us that the badge of manhood requires a certain amount of vulnerability, and give and take, proving that you don't have to survive a hail of bullets to earn honor.
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Museum of Latin American Art
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Brooklyn Academy of Music
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Cincinnati Art Museum
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UCLA
"I don't want your stupid award anyway," said artist Wayne White if he were offered $25,000 and a space in a joint exhibition at the New Museum's new building on the Bowery--or something like that. The New Museum recently announced the newly-established Altoids Award, a biannual award, sponsored by Altoids, the Curiously Strong Mints® that grants four emerging artists chosen by a panel of their peers, $25,000 cash and a joint exhibition at the New Museum.
Eleven artists, selected for their pioneering, often subversive works and commitment to promoting the art community, will serve as nominators who may choose up to five artists who they feel are pushing through the cement as emerging, young artists. Nominators include Edgar Arceneaux, Los Angeles; Allora and Calzadilla, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Mitch Cope, Detroit; Trisha Donnelly, San Francisco; Harrell Fletcher, Portland, OR; Jay Heikes, Minneapolis; Matt Keegan, New York; Rick Lowe, Houston; Frances Stark, Los Angeles and Michelle Grabner, Chicago. Duly noted is Edgar Arceneaux's works at Philosophy of Time Travel, a current exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem and Rick Lowe, founding director of PRH.
Since artists need bread and water too, we hope that the Altoids Award will live up to its by-the-artists, for-the-artists promise. Otherwise, we don't need your stupid award anyway.
Every spring people flock into Washington, D.C.—and it's not for the National Cherry Blossom Festival alone. Since 1990, artists and arts cognoscenti have been descending on the nation's capitol in April for the Porter Colloquium at Howard University. The annual event, which bills itself as "the leading forum for scholars, artists, curators and others in the field of African American art and visual culture," honors James A. Porter (1905-1970). Porter, an artist and art historian, was educated at Howard University and taught there for more than forty years. His 1943 publication Modern Negro Art is a foundational text for anyone studying the history of African American art.
Distinguished scholars, as well as students new to the field, come out for the academic presentations, artists' roundtables, and lively audience discussions that are the mainstays of the colloquium's three-day program. The festivities also include an auction and a gala. This year's theme is migration and globalization. Organizers pose questions such as: what are the tropes of migration and globalization and what strategies might be used to explore concepts of continuity and change, context and chronology? Speakers include Raymond Dobard, Jacqueline Francis, Pamela Franco, Phyllis Jackson, Nkiru NzegwuM, and Mary Ann Calo. Artists' panels will feature presentations by iona rozeal brown, Zoë Charlton, Jefferson Pinder, and Frank Smith, among others.
Each year's colloquium honors a major contributor to the field. This year there are two honorees: Yale University professor, Robert Farris Thompson; and artist and arts administrator, Evangeline J. (EJ) Montgomery. Thompson, author of Flash of the Spirit, will give a keynote address on Friday, April 20. Also, in conjunction with the colloquium, on Thursday, April 19, educator and arts administrator Mary Schmidt Campbell will deliver the sixth annual David C. Driskell Center Lecture at the University of Maryland. The Porter Colloquium runs from April 19 through 22.
How ironically relevant and timely, we thought, when reading about the release of Paul Robeson: Portraits of the Artists, a DVD box set showcasing the varying fields of excellence by Renaissance man and peace activist Paul Robeson. Timely in the post 9/11, creation of United States Department of Homeland Security and Guantánamo Bay detainment camp and passage of USA PATRIOT Act, kind of way. That is, reminiscent of the same political climate in which Robeson's career as an artist and political activist thrived and was condemned; his passport retracted and freedom of speech and expression revoked for eight years.
Portraits of the Artists showcases seven films, a documentary on Robeson's life and art, and a book of essays illustrating Robeson as an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist. Oscar Micheaux's silent film Body and Soul (1925) introduced American film world to Robeson's theatrical talents in his portrayal of conflicting twin brothers. Although the package excludes Robeson's epic Othello Broadway performance that prompted 12 encores opening night and is still one of the longest running Shakespeare performances on Broadway, it does explore other performances with Robeson as actor, and sometimes narrator in Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand's Native Land (1942).
Robeson's irrevocable passion for progress and equality, often obscured by propaganda and persecution, remains an eternal model for excellence and return to renaissance. His artistic and political contributions uttered through voice and word, in more than a dozen languages, exude his commitment to the international community and the poise of a true diplomat.
In Here I Stand, Robeson's autobiography, he says "[I] learned that the essential character of a nation is determined not by the upper classes, but by the common people, and that the common people of all nations are truly brothers in the great family of mankind." And we certainly hope the depth of Robeson's works in Portrait of the Artists resounds beyond the Broadway stage and screen.
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California African American Museum
Education Specialist: Public Programs
Whitney Museum of American Art
Development Associate and Studio Program Manager
Smack Mellon (Brooklyn, NY)
Summer Educator Apprentice
The Museum of Modern Art
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The Museum of Modern Art
Development/Special Projects Intern
Walker Art Center
Curator of African, Oceanic and Native American Art
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Art in Public Places Coordinator
Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission
Director, Dominican Elementary Schools Project
Education Through Music
Momentum is defined as "mass in motion." Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The juxtaposition of tangible reality against celebrated illusion has made animation one of the most high-impact visual art forms of modern times. The exhibit Momentary Momentum: Animated Drawings, currently on display at the Parasol Unit Foundation in London, U.K. until Sunday, April 15, underscores this duality of movement and innovation.
Code Z notes the inclusion of Kara Walker in the exhibit, represented by a black and white "moving picture," which continues the artist's obsessions with African-American history and the formal technique of the silhouette.
Co-curated by Ziba de Weck Ardalan and Laurence Dreyfus, Momentary Momentum is composed of a series of special installations and films screened in the gallery, including work by a emerging animation artists. The exhibition also includes an animation video installation by Francis Alÿs, an animated film by William Kentridge, and a short animation by David Shrigley, while rising stars in animation from around the world display their work. From the cel format of traditional animation to the lifelike figures of 3-D computer animation now predominating the silver screen, this illusion of force continues to provide, in so many mediums, the springboard for which artists moves their own thoughts from illusion to possibility.
Great film-related stuff just keeps coming out of Austin, Texas, no doubt spurred by that city's recent rep as a haven of underground filmmaking. First we tracked the avant-garde ruminations of filmmaker Cauleen Smith. Then we noted the Austin Woman's Film, Music & Literary Festival set to begin next month.
Now we turn an eye toward the Cine Las Americas film festival, which this year celebrates its 10th year in the central Texas city. The festival has a strong history of showcasing films from throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, and this year is continuing its tradition of strongly representing Afro-Latino films. Director of Programming, Jacqueline Rush Rivera, tells us we ought to pay particular attention to percussionist Naná Vasconcelos' documentary feature Diário de Naná and Lúcia Murat's dramatic feature Quase Dois Irmãos as good examples of this year's focus.
The festival includes screenings, Q&A sessions, panels, and other events, including a gala fundraiser on April 18, the night before opening night. The festival runs from April 19 through 26.
