Exhibit on view at City Hall through September 6, 2013
Artists' Reception: August 2, 2013, 3-5pm
City of Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism are proud to announce the opening of We Are Family: A Story-Art-Song-Dance Gallery Tour, featuring the work of local artists from the RI Black Storytellers, the RI Black Heritage Society, the E. M. Bannister Society, the Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit, as well as other independent artists. The exhibit will feature work from Black and indigenous peoples' cultures and artistic traditions, sharing the dynamic diversity of vision and voice present in the communities of color in Rhode Island. The exhibit is premiering as part of The Association of American Cultures' Open Dialogue conference which is being held in Providence August 2-4, 2013. The exhibit is on view through September 6th. The artists' reception will be held Friday, August 2nd from 3pm to 5pm.
Ramona Bass Kolobe, the Watermelon Lady, organized the Story-Art-Song-Dance Gallery Tour exhibit to bring the pulse of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers world to life. On the evening of We Are Family's artist reception, Miss Ramona will be joined by the first-ever Story-Guide Team-RI:USA, a group of arts and humanities community service workers who will share their creative skills in the arts with visitors in a live performance. There will be a family learning activity table for the duration of the exhibit called the Arty-Scholar Parlor table. With games, puzzles, and a book list, the Arty-Scholar table will allow gallery visitors to participate in an open dialogue about culture that continues beyond the Open Dialogue conference.
ABOUT THE PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
The Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization staffed entirely by volunteers. The Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating the history and culture of Cape Verde and Cape Verdean Americans. We also recognize the work of notable Cape Verdean-Americans, from musicians and athletes to politicians and scholars in their Cape Verdean Heritage Hall of Fame. The Cape Verdean Museum Exhibit has one of the largest collections of books in English relating to the history and culture of Cape Verde and Cape Verdean-Americans. The museum has held several Tardi Kultural, "Culture in the Afternoon" events, which feature traditional music, poetry and art.
Named after one of Rhode Island's most prominent nineteenth-century landscape painters, The Edward Mitchell Bannister Society was formed in 1996 through a collaboration of active artists and patrons. The Bannister Society promotes the art and culture of the African American community in the state of Rhode Island, providing exhibition opportunities for African American artists, and paying tribute to noteworthy members of the arts community of the region. The Bannister Society has exhibited at the University of Rhode Island's Kingston campus Main Gallery, Providence City Hall Gallery, CVS Caremark Headquarters in Woonsocket, RI, The Atrium Gallery in Providence, RI, and the Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College.
The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1975. The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society is constituted for the purpose of procuring, collecting, and preserving: books, letters, manuscripts, prints, photographs, paintings, and any other historical material relating to the history of African Americans in Rhode Island. The Society also encourages and promotes the study of African-American history through lectures and making information available to the general community.
Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black Storytelling in Rhode Island through performance, educational, and cultural experiences. Annually, RIBS presents their week long FUNDA FEST: A Celebration of Black Storytelling. In addition, RIBS tellers appear at numerous arts and community events throughout the year. The organization offers workshops in storytelling, writing, and related arts as a part of the development of the next generation of storytellers. RIBS also presents professional development workshops for adults interested in enhancing cultural awareness, performances and communication skills.
TAAC
The Association of American Cultures, TAAC, is a national arts service organizaton founded in 1985 to provide leadership in achieving equal participation in policymaking, equitable funding for all cultural institutions, an elevation in multicultural leadership and essential networks that impact cultural policies. The TAAC convenes the annual Open Dialogue conference, bringing together artists and arts administrators from around the country to discuss issues, challenges, successes and perspectives of arts organizations and artists in communities of color. The theme of this years Open Dialogue conference is "People, Places, and Policy", and it is taking place in Providence from August 2nd to August 4th, 2013.
About the Gallery at City Hall
Offering space to artists and organizations that might not have a permanent gallery, the Gallery at City Hall exhibits an eclectic array of work that highlights the artistic and cultural diversity found in the Providence community. It is located on the second floor and is open to the public during City Hall business hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:00pm; on the first and third Wednesday of every month, hours are extended until 7:00 p.m. (25 Dorrance Street, 2nd Floor, Providence, RI 02903).