OPENING RECEPTION WITH THE ARTISTS
& BOOK SIGNING w/BETTY PRESS Saturday, December 10, 2011 6-9pm
Featuring photography by Mariana Sheppard, Nakeya Brown & Betty Press Organized by Museum Director & Curator, Jennifer Williams In conjunction with the 6th Annual PhotoNola Festival
Free and Open to the Public | Donations appreciated! Complimentary Refreshments | Music provided by DJ Rik Ducci
**Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the opening reception. A percentage of the proceeds benefit the McKenna Museums** http://www.africanwisdominimageandproverb.com/
Photography Exhibition Descriptions
& Public Programming
BECOMING HOME For members of the African Diaspora, home is constantly being redefined. Think the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Think the Great Migration. Think Hurricane Katrina. Despite being uprooted a community still finds a way to grow. For the inhabitants along the west bank of the Mississippi River, the region most commonly referred to as the German Coast, the aesthetic of home is situated between two distant periods—antebellum and 21st century South. Vestiges of grandeur line the River Road: extravagant plantation homes, vast acreages of oak trees, and candy painted impalas.
Becoming Home, the collaborative photographic series between Mariana Sheppard and Nakeya Brown, curated by Jennifer Williams, explores the modern social make-up of life in the River Region from a historical, cultural and sociological perspective.
AFRICAN WISDOM IN IMAGE AND PROVERB I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom in Image and Proverb is a stunning collection of photographs taken by Betty Press while she lived and traveled in Africa. One hundred and twenty-five photographs have been paired with African proverbs compiled by Annetta Miller, an American born in Tanzania and living in East Africa most of her life.
In this collection, the message is significant and life-affirming: I am because we are; we are because I am. The title of the book comes from a well known proverb attributed to South Africa. It speaks to the interconnectedness and responsibility that we have for each other. In embodies the concept of Ubuntu, an African philosophy of living harmoniously in community.
The exhibition at the museum will consist of 20-40 black and white images selected from the book published in partnership with Books for Africa.
For more info: http://photonola.org/2011/09/20/mckenna-museum-of-african-american-art-2/
SAVE THE DATE!
Curator Tour January 14, 2012 2pm
Artist Talk Saturday, January 21, 2012 2pm
On View December 10, 2011 - January 21, 2012
