The Art Within Us
"The Art Within Us" celebrates Black History Month
Jan. 23, 2007 -- "The Art Within Us" which will run Feb.1 to 28, is free and
open to the public Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 300 S. 6th St.,
A-Level, Minneapolis.
The exhibit is created by Obsidian Arts, a nonprofit that seeks to increase
awareness and appreciation of black art, artists and institutions. Included in
the Gallery exhibit are paintings, sculpture, three-dimensional artwork,
photography, furniture, textiles and relief art created by 12 local African
American artists and artists of color: Richard Amos, Felix Hampton Brown,
Christopher Deanes, Estela De Paola de Lerma, Christopher Harrison, Helen
Jackson, Koffi Mbairamadji, Margaret Moore, Esther Osayande, Pat Phillips,
Shirley Robertson and Rabi Sanfo.
In addition, the public is invited to hear art historian Suzanne Roberts and
artists Richard Amos and Helen Jackson discuss "The Art Within Us" on Wednesday,
Feb. 7, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Government Center"s 24th-floor Board
Room .
Roberts is an arts activist who has spent more than 20 years learning about and
sharing African and African American art history. She has taught at the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Intermedia Arts and is a founding member of
Obsidian Arts.
Amos says his art is a journey influenced by the colorful canvas of cultures of
color. His works are usually culturally specific and, he says, they reflect the
"colored-black-negro-African American-hip hop life." Amos says, "I am drawn to
the African concept of masks because we all wear them, and as a society we are
evolving to accept each other"s versions of mask."
Jackson is the daughter of a photographer who fell in love with taking pictures
when she was 16. "When I pick up a camera," she says, "the visions are
everywhere; in the city, the countryside, the mountains, the seashore or in the
weather. When I am hiking, biking or walking about, I see the rich tapestry of
nature right before my eyes and I have to capture what I see."
Also at the Government Center, the public is invited to hear Rodney "October"
Dixon, the co-founder of Spoken Word University, as he joins Teens Rock the Mic!
and the Minnesota Spoken Word Association for storytelling, testimonies and
witnessing on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Board Room.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Hennepin County Human Resources Diversity/ADA
Division.
