Program Calendar

This is an online class.

African American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin said, “All journeys are extraordinary.”

This eight-part lecture series is an introduction to the visual art production of African American artists and makers, as well as an introduction to the visual art of the African Diaspora. Here +54 is an ode to African American art and the visual art and material culture of the 54 countries on the African continent.

The online genealogy company, Ancestry.com, helps people build their family trees. Whenever a small discovery is made, it’s called a “leaf.” From the representation of black female figures in the works of 19th century French modernist painter Édouard Manet, to the exceptional lens-based brilliance of contemporary American artist Carrie Mae Weems, Here+54 can be a “leaf,” on the way to building a remarkable tree of understanding and embrace of African American and African Diasporan visual expression, which across the globe, has been an instrumental agent of triumph and change. What an “extraordinary journey this will be!”

Each “Masterclass,” features a discussion with a noted scholar, art historian, or curator, with emphasis on a particular exhibition or genre of African American or African Diasporian cultural expression that reflects their scholarly focus and expertise. (See below)

Co-sponsored by Life Lessons: The Wm. & Margery Sadowsky Center for Adult Learning at the Springfield JCC.

Instructor: Kymberly Newberry
Tuesday, 6:30-8 pm
September 28; October 5, 12, 19, 26; November 2, 9, 16

September 28 – Black architects and The National Museum of African American History and Culture
October 5 – Masterclass: Dr. Kimberly Juanita Brown discusses Carrie Mae Weems, Roaming, 2006
October 12 – Polaroid & Apartheid and the Role of Photography in the Decolonization of West Africa
October 19 – Masterclass: Dr. Christa Clarke Discusses: The Gilded Age Revisited: Yinka Shonibare CBE at the Newark Museum
October 26 – Black Women in the Works of the Impressionists and Contemporary Multimedia Artist Mickalene Thomas
November 2 – Masterclass: Dr. Allen F. Roberts Discusses: “Brainsmithing”: The Art of Senegalese Artists Ndary Lô, Viyé Diba, and Moussa Tine
November 9 – Seeing This Makes Me Sweat Big Drops: Dilemmas in Curating/Translating African Art in American Art Museums
November 16 – Masterclass: Dr. James Smethurst Discusses: The Black Arts Movement

Click here for a description of each session.