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 “Stay Fly” Comes to CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery

THE AFRO — “Stay Fly” is a combination of large and small scale collages, and personal designer items.

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By George Kevin Jordan

Local Artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards will premiere her latest work this Friday at CityCenterDC, as part of CulturalDC’s 10th installation in their Mobile Art Gallery space.

“Stay Fly” is a combination of large and small scale collages, and personal designer items, and does a deep dive into the relationship between Black people, luxury goods and fashion. For Edwards, the installation was a natural extension of her earlier work.

“It’s really a continuum of an exhibition that I had last year with my gallery in New York  – ‘Fly Girl Fly,’” Richmond-Edwards said. “I’ve always dealt with the narrative that revolved around the subjects in my paintings, but I never addressed the obvious things in my work which was the fashion.”

A piece featured in “Stay Fly” from local artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards at CityCenterDC at CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery as part of their 10th installation.

The Detroit born and raised artist recalled the influence of midwest fashion and how it impacted her sensibilities.

“We’re were really known for our flamboyant style,” Richmond-Edwards said.” So you will have custom red suits with the red gators to match the red Cadillac. Real flamboyant and gaudy. That’s how I was dressing in high school.

Another big influence was her sister’s subscription to Ebony magazine and the Ebony Fashion Fair section in the back of the book.

“It was my first introduction to couture fashion,” Richmond-Edwards said. “You had these beautiful models and these frilly over the top Couture gowns and that was very impressionable to me.”

Because she liked to draw, Richmond-Edwards was able to draw and design her own dress for prom. She designed dresses for few other girls as well. Those moments shaped her love for fashion, design and art.

She would later graduate with a Bachelor of Art degree from Jackson State University in 2004, where she studied painting and drawing, and earn an MFA from Howard University in 2012.

Richmond-Edwards’ current work pushes beyond the stereotypes of luxury and asks us to hold several different complicated ideas at once.

“What does luxury mean to us as people of color in our community,” she said. “On one hands it means purchasing a Gucci purse. but it can also mean purchasing a knock off because it’s the logo that symbolizes fashion.”

“Luxury is also like customization – getting your dress made or even. If you look in terms of how we broadcast or show we have this upward mobility, we may not be able to invest in education or a house, I’m speaking of people who aren’t necessarily middle class, but we can rock some new shoes and that was very important for us. I have access to that.”

CulturalDC is celebrating 20 years of “creating affordable, sustainable artist spaces in Washington D.C. Richmond-Edwards’ work is the latest in an ongoing mobile art gallery space.

“Jamea’s installation in particular highlights the potential of CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery. We are providing a unique opportunity for an artist to display their work directly next to the subjects they are in conversation with. We’re also thinking critically about other artistic disciplines, like fashion and their representation in our curatorial repertoire,” says Kristi Maiselman, Executive Director of CulturalDC on the website.

For Richmond-Edwards, the installation offers an opportunity for audiences to look at our cultural contribution and legacy in a different way.

“This is all American history,” Richmond-Edwards said. “Why do we want to match our outfits to our gators, to our cars? We’re looking at history in a way that hasn’t been addressed. Let’s talk about the way we subvert the systems and how we uplift ourselves.”

“Stay Fly” will run through April 13. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the show or CulturalDC please visit the website at www.culturaldc.org

This article originally appeared in The Afro

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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. 

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

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.

“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

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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.

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

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.

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Art

Black Nativity: A Unique Adaptation of the Christmas Story

“Black Nativity” is a cultural adaptation that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Created by the poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes, and performed by an all-Black cast, this unique musical production showcases traditional Christmas carols sung in a gospel style, along with some new songs specifically written for the show.

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Poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes.
Poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes.

By Tamara Shiloh

“Black Nativity” is a cultural adaptation that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Created by the poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes, and performed by an all-Black cast, this unique musical production showcases traditional Christmas carols sung in a gospel style, along with some new songs specifically written for the show.

The show made its debut Off-Broadway on Dec. 11, 1961. It was a groundbreaking moment because it was one of the first plays written by an African American to be staged in New York City. The play gained popularity quickly and even toured Europe in 1962, with one notable performance at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy.

“Black Nativity” has become an annual tradition in Boston, since 1970. It has been performed at various locations, including the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, Boston Opera House, Tremont Temple, Roxbury Community College, Northeastern University’s Blackman Auditorium, and Emerson College’s Paramount Theater. This production is considered the longest-running rendition of the Langston Hughes’ classic.

The original cast included 160 singers, classified by age group and vocal range. They were accompanied by soloists, a narrator, and unique portrayals of Mary and Joseph, who communicated without speaking. Musicians and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters added depth to the performance.

The show begins in complete darkness as barefoot singers, dressed in white robes and carrying electric candles, walk in while singing the classic hymn “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” This creates a captivating and atmospheric start to the performance.

One of the most dramatic moments in the play is the portrayal of Jesus’ birth. The stage transforms from orange and blue lights to a deep red hue. African drums and percussion are used to echo Mary’s contractions, adding a unique touch to the story. The Three Wise Men, often prominent members of the local Black community, play their roles without singing.

The show concludes with the chorus singing a reprise of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” as they exit in darkness. A final soliloquy delivered by a young child brings emotional closure to the performance.

Originally, the play was named “Wasn’t It a Mighty Day?”

Notably, Alvin Ailey, a renowned dancer and choreographer, was part of the original Off-Broadway cast. However, both he and Carmen de Lavallade left the production due to a dispute over changing the title to “Black Nativity.”

In 2004, a documentary film was made about the world premiere performance and the creation of the best-selling gospel Christmas album, “Black Nativity – In Concert: A Gospel Celebration.” This original cast performance took place at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Portland, ME.

A film adaptation of “Black Nativity” directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett was released on Nov. 27, 2013, bringing this remarkable Nativity story to a broader audience.

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