tonight in L.A.! (sorry for the late notice)
Posted on | February 27, 2009 | No Comments
The California African American Museum (CAAM) of Los Angeles, California is embarking on a new series of small exhibitions which will be featured in its spacious 11,000 square foot enclosed sculpture court. The CAAM Project Showcase will exhibit new and innovative works from contemporary emerging and mid-career artists. Charged with the mission to engage this grand space that boasts over 150 feet of walls that extend 34 feet to a domed skylit ceiling, artists submit proposals to present their art and install it in a way that compliments the layout of the Sculpture Court without compromising the rental of floor space for events. Works can suspend from the beamed ceiling or be installed on the wall as well as designated floor areas. Video and new media works can also be accommodated. CAAM visual art curators will select proposals that are aesthetically engaging, thoughtful and reflect the greater CAAM mission. Independent curators are encouraged to submit proposals. Exhibitions will rotate every 8 to 12 weeks and periodically highlight our impressive growing permanent collection which includes works from esteemed artists that range from Martin Puryear to Betye Saar to Charles Gaines to Picasso as well as African antiquities. Artists selected for a project space exhibition receive a materials stipend, reception and have the opportunity to present an artist talk and/or workshop for which they will get paid. For more information, contact Michele, visual arts curator at 213-744-7678 or mlee@caamuseum.org.
P.S. The project space opens March 12th with Loren Holland, Elizabeth Colomba and Nzuji.
Friday, February 27, 2009, 6 – 9 pm / performance, CAAM Performance Art Evenings
Please join us for our culminating festivities of Black History Month for the premiere opening of the CAAM Performance Art Evenings which will be presented in our 11,000 square foot Sculpture Court, a grand, open space surrounding the Museum’s entrance, hosting the works of contemporary working artists on its walls. The first performance in the new series will debut the timely presentation of “Quiet As Kept: CHANGE.” Written and directed by Ulysses Jenkins, Ph. D. (Associate Professor of Art and Director of the African American Studies Program at U.C. Irvine). Quiet As Kept: CHANGE is a multi-media event celebrating and honoring the under-recognized matriarchal voice in the art world. Professor Ulysses Jenkins directs a multi-racial/cultural cast of esteemed visual artists (musicians and performers from Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area), who collaborate to create the atmosphere of a “performance village” where several performances occur to create a “happening” in the midst of fluid socializing and intermingling among the viewers or audience. An especially exciting experience for viewers to closely connect with living art as it happens!
The evening opens with Viver Brasil dance troupe delighting the audience with tales, song and dance from Bahia, Brazil in honor of the Goddess of Water. The centerpiece of the evening will be a real-time sand painting, honoring the matriarchy that evolves through the creation of artist Matthew Thomas. Viewers will be passive participants as he develops this traditional artwork that is used in both East Indian and Hopi cultures for enlightenment and connection to woman Nature Goddess.
Throughout the Sculpture Court space, images of women from all over the globe and engaged in a variety of activities (professional, domestic, social, creative and political) will be projected on the wall. Visual metaphors which are instrumental to envisioning the future leadership roles of women in society and the arts and that exemplify African American and other women from all corners of the globe.” The quarterly series of these new, family-friendly performance works is a special opportunity to experience an interdisciplinary mix of fun, experimentation and investigation from the artists and performers.
Elder, star master artists such as Betye Saar and Samella Lewis will be introduced into the performance throughout the evening with a variety of musical forms using instruments as diverse as Tibetan bowls and the African Dijeridou (spoken word and poetry) presentations. Dance styles are also presented, with dancers weaving in and out of the performance village, amongst the audience. A stimulating presentation by Japanese performance artist and musician, Nobuko Miyamoto of Great Leap embodies all of those creative traditions.
The CAAM Performance Art series ushers in a dynamic engagement where the museum becomes the repository for scores of performance artists to present new and original works to the general public which integrate cultural difference, social justice, the environment, gender, class, ethnicity and generation. CAAM Performance Art presentations are family friendly and free to the Museum’s members. Non-members will pay a nominal $5-$10 sliding scale fee (seniors, students and families receive a discount).
The premiere of CAAM Performance Art Evenings not only culminates our Black History Month celebrations but also coincides with the College Art Association’s annual conference, held this year in downtown Los Angeles.
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