Art

‘Black Woman is God’ is Back for the Fourth Year

The Black Woman is God (TBWIG) opened its yearly art exhibit with a reception in downtown San Francisco on June 29. The event featured food, music, and community, and plenty of space to admire the art on display. This year’s theme is Motherhood and the pieces exploring the ways Black mothers show up, as well as the ways they don’t, but honoring it all.

Published

10 months ago

July 11, 2023

Oakland Post

Violinist Tarika Lewis, left, and Harpist Destiny Muhammad, both of Oakland performed at the Fourth Annual The Black Woman Is God opening reception on June 29. Photo by Zoe Jung.

By Daisha Williams

The Black Woman is God (TBWIG) opened its yearly art exhibit with a reception in downtown San Francisco on June 29.

The event featured food, music, and community, and plenty of space to admire the art on display. This year’s theme is Motherhood and the pieces exploring the ways Black mothers show up, as well as the ways they don’t, but honoring it all.

In line with the theme, mothers were encouraged to bring their children to the event, emphasizing that this space was for everyone. One of the artists, Marissa Atterberry, said, “It felt amazing to create with motherhood in mind and create something that was inclusive of myself as a whole person and inclusive of my children and then to step into a space that was inclusive of children. But for Karen Seneferu [the founder] to say ‘bring the children, honor the children,’ it felt really good.”

Seneferu, the founder of TBWIG had also ensured that the event was spiritual in nature, with attendees performing a ritual and stating intentions upon entering, and opened with a prayer and a blessing, setting up positive energy that lasted the whole evening.

Entry to The Black Woman Is God exhibit in downtown San Francisco on June 29. Photo by Daisha Williams.

TBWIG celebrates Black women and their art through this annual exhibit. The intent of these events is to show that they are moving past embattled ideologies and reclaiming the legacy of Black women artists.

Black women have contributed so much to society, yet they are often not celebrated openly, which is why events like this, seeing them as art and artists, celebrating their beauty, grace, and influence, is so important.

The venue at 231 Grant St. was smaller than in previous years — this is the event’s second year since the pandemic — which made the environment cozy and welcoming, like a family atmosphere.

This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a good turnout though, as the room filled up within an hour after opening. Zoe Jung talked about the strong sense of community he felt as an attendee. “There was a sense of camaraderie between the musicians and the artists and even the people walking through.”

Seneferu is an artist herself. She says she hopes that she can transform the meaning of space for Black women by creating one that belongs to them.

She intentionally puts artists of different experience levels in the exhibit to show the historical legacy of Black women artists. “I just felt so deeply honored and humbled, and I have a lot of family photos in the altar that I created, and I just loved seeing people go up and see my family and hopefully see some of their own family in my family.”

The reception was a lively space. From the minute of opening, people mingled while still taking the time and space to appreciate the art.

The art, the people and the music together made for a beautiful experience.

Harpist Destiny Muhammad and violinist Tarika Lewis played duets shifting the focus and spotlight away from the walls.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Interfaith Council, No Coal in Oakland to Hold Rally July 22 to Block Shipments from Utah

Don't Miss

Fallout from Holy Names University’s Closure Continues

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Art

Marin County: A Snapshot of California’s Black History Is on Display

The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024. The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Early photo of Marin City in the exhibit showing the first department store, barber shop, and liquor store. (Photo by Godfrey Lee)

By Post Staff

The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

All will have the opportunity to visit and be guided by its curator Felecia Gaston.

The exhibit will include photographs, articles and artifacts about the Black experience in Marin City from 1942 to 1960 from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent California Room Collection, The Ruth Marion and Pirkle Jones Collection, The Bancroft Library, and the Daniel Ruark Collection.

It also features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro, and art pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag, Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University of California.

The exhibit explores how Marin City residents endured housing inequities over the years and captures the history of plans to remove Black residents from the area after World War II. Throughout, it embodies the spirit of survival and endurance that emboldened the people who made Marin City home.

Felecia Gaston is the author of the commemorative book, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City.’ Thanks to the generous contribution of benefactors, a set of Felecia’s book will be placed in every public elementary, middle, and high school library in Marin.

In addition, educators and librarians at each school will have the opportunity to engage with Felecia in a review of best practices for utilizing the valuable primary sources within the book.

“Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to learn from these significant and historical contributions to Marin County, California, and the United States,” said John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.

“By engaging with Felecia’s book and then visiting the exhibit, students will be able to further connect their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of this significant historical period,” Carroll continued.

Felecia Gaston adds, “The Marin County Office of Education’s decision to bring the Marin City Historical Traveling Exhibit and publication, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home’ to young students is intentional and plays a substantial role in the educational world. It is imperative that our community knows the contributions of Marin City Black residents to Marin County. Our youth are best placed to lead this transformation.”

The Marin County Office of Education will host an Open House Reception of the exhibit’s debut on Feb. 1 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.. All school staff, educators, librarians, and community members are encouraged to attend to preview the exhibit and connect with Felecia Gaston. To contact Gaston, email MarinCityLegacy@marinschools.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Alternative Outcome to Slayings by Police Explored in One-Man Play

BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira. Set against the backdrop of a presidential election, the play explores how political and cultural leaders wield the myth of the dangerous Black man to manipulate the masses for personal gain. Piper penned the follow-up to his ground-breaking solo play, “Cops and Robbers,” after an impromptu cross-country Black history tour.

Published

2 months ago

February 16, 2024

Oakland Post

BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira.

Special to The Post

What would happen if police officers who have gotten off for killing unarmed Black people started turning up dead?

Piper penned the follow-up to his ground-breaking solo play, “Cops and Robbers,” after an impromptu cross-country Black history tour.

“My wife and I had been talking about it for years,” Ferreira said. They had taken their three children to Brazil several times and West Africa but had yet to explore their history as Black people in this country. “It was Juneteenth last year and I realized we had a few weeks to make it happen, so we just jumped in the car and left” Piper said.

Three weeks later the family had seen everything from the African American Museum of History and Culture in Wash., D.C., to the phenomenally preserved Whitney Plantation in Louisiana. They’d stood outside of the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., and paid their respects at the Africa Town cemetery – where the passengers of the Clotilda (the last known U.S. slave ship to smuggle captured Africans into this country) were buried near Mobile, Ala.

“We had the kids keep a journal of the trip and my wife and I took notes, but once we got back home, I knew I had to make the pen move,” he said.

Ferreira plays 21 characters in the 60-minute emotional roller coaster ride; personalities we all know. While brilliantly weaving in themes of revolution, treachery, and revenge, “Black Men Everywhere!” is surprisingly — more than anything else — a love story.

“I wrote the play for Black men and everyone who loves us,” Ferreira said. “The play is narrated by a sistah and performed in front of the deeply spiritual artwork of Nedra T. Williams, an Oakland priestess of Olokun. It’s called ‘Black Men Everywhere!’ but we don’t exist without the Black woman.”

For tickets, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/5dm3mhra

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Art

City of Stockton Seeks Applications for Public Art Murals

The City of Stockton Arts Commission (SAC) has announced the opportunity for artist(s) and/or artist teams to apply to design and paint original artwork on City-owned property through a Public Art Mural Program. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 8, 2024, at 5 p.m. Applications and additional information are available online at www.stocktonca.gov/publicart.

Published

3 months ago

January 24, 2024

Oakland Post

The Public Art Mural Program incentivizes mural installations by providing city funding and the means of curating the City’s collection of murals.

City of Stockton

The deadline for applications is Friday, March 8, 2024, at 5 p.m. Applications and additional information are available online at www.stocktonca.gov/publicart.

The Public Art Mural Program incentivizes mural installations by providing city funding and the means of curating the City’s collection of murals.

This program has $50,000 in available funds for artist(s) and is also available for those who have already identified funds and would like to complete a mural project on city-owned property. Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis and selected by the SAC.

To learn more about the Stockton Arts Commission (SAC) or qualifications and eligibility for Public Art Mural Program, please visit www.stocktonca.gov/publicart or call the Community Services Department at (209) 937-8206.