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March On

“FOUNDING VISIONARIES:
Herb Williams and Jack White”

Opening Reception: September 27th, 2008
Opening Reception Time: 2:00 p.m.- 5:00p.m.
Venue: The Community Folk Art Center (CFAC)

March On!

Artist: London Ladd
Opening Reception: September 27, 2008: Time: 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Book Signing: September 27, 2008: Time: 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.


Westcott Street Fair

 

Westcott Street Cultural Fair

Date: September 21, 2008
Day: Sunday
Time: noon - 5:00pm
Location: Westcott Street

Calling all creative kids, visit the CFAC Creative Arts Tent for papermaking, art stamping, collage and whole a lot more! Come for crafts and stay for the book signing by local illustrator London Ladd.

Scholastic Publications has generously donated copies of March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World for this special event. Artist London Ladd will be at the CFAC Creative Arts Tent at 3:00 p.m. to sign copies of this wonderful children’s book.

March On! written by Christine King Farris, commemorates the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historical "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28 1963. The book is filled with beautiful, vivid illustrations chronicling the 24 hours leading up to Dr. King delivering the speech that changed the world through the eyes of his older sister, Christine King Farris.

Limited copies are available. Get to the tent early to claim your signed copy!

The Westcott Street Cultural Fair is an annual, one-day celebration of the diversity and uniqueness of the Westcott neighborhood through its culture: visual and performing arts, food, service organizations and activities geared to families and Syracuse and LeMoyne students returning to the neighborhood. The fair attracts more than 8,000 people annually to the Westcott Business District in mid-September for a day filled with great sounds, sights, tastes and more!


Meet Ma' at the Folk

Venue: Community Folk Art Center
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008
Time: 6:00 - 7:30pm
Location: Main Gallery
Address: 805 East Genesee Street – Syracuse, NY 13210
R.S.V.P. Contact: 315.442.2230 or cfac@syr.edu

The Community Folk Art Center in collaboration with Syracuse Stage, is excited to host a Q&A with Broadway actress Ebony Jo-Ann. Jo-Ann is currently in the title role of August Wilson's play, Ma' Rainey's Black Bottom opening Saturday, September 13th at Syracuse Stage. August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom opened on Broadway in 1984, launching Wilson’s 10-play chronicle of African American life in the 20th century. In 1985, Ma Rainey won a Tony Award for Best Play and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. Themes and conflicts in Ma Rainey can be found throughout Wilson’s cycle: jazz v. blues, males v. females, guys trying to become men, old guns schooling the young guy, migration from south to north, clashes between southern and northern African Americans, and clashes between older and younger generations.

The story centers on a young horn player with a pocket full of songs and a head full of dreams who longs to place his name among the giants of the blues, legends the likes of Ma Rainey, for whom he is a session sideman. In a single day of making music, making jokes and making deals, the horn player succumbs to the harsh realities of unjustly thwarted aspirations and the self-destructive consequences of misdirected anger and violence.

The real-life Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was signed to Paramount Records in 1923 as one of their first African American artists. Ma’s style was authentic Southern-folk, punctuated with moans, slurs and glissandos. Although a more “sophisticated” sound started to become popular towards the end of her career, Ma’s recordings stayed true to her Southern, rural roots of growing up in Georgia. Nick named the “Mother of the Blues,” it is rumored that Ma Rainey taught Bessie Smith how to sing the blues. For more information about this production or to purchase tickets please visit Syracuse Stage at http://www.syracusestage.org/.

Please R.S.V.P. Spaces are limited.

Contact the Community Folk Art Center and reserve a spot for this Syracuse Stage and Community Folk Art Center collaborative special event. To R.S.V.P please call 315.442.2230 or email cfac@syr.edu

Click Here to purchase tickets online.

Copy Credit: Syracuse Stage


slaves

The Whipping Post Exhibition: June 7 - August 16, 2008
The Whipping Post Opening: June 14, 2-4pm
Film Screening: June 18, 6pm
B&N Artist Talk: June 19, 6pm
Barnes & Noble Bookfair: June 19 - 26
Felicia Bell Talk: June 20, 6pm
Dr. Sheila Aird Talk: June 21, 2pm
Film Screening: June 26, 6pm
Illuminate the Arts week 1: July 14- 18
Illuminate the Arts week 2: July 21 - 25


Unchained Memories:
Readings from Slave Narratives
Directors: Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon
Screening: June 7 - August 16
Admission: Free

In the early 1930's the Federal Writers' Project mounted a project to transcribe the memories of former African-American slaves who were still living. The result was a massive collection of notes, documents, and recordings, all of which found their way into the Library of Congress. Co-produced by the Library and the HBO cable channel, Unchained Memories: Readings From the Slave Narratives features a truly impressive array of black performers sharing the reminiscences of those who lived under the yoke of slavery. Directors Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon complemented the words with vivid images culled from contemporary photographs of the years 1850-1935.

"Unchained Memories" will be screening in the Herbert T. Williams Gallery throughout the "The Whipping Post" exhibition. Come sit for a moment with 'elders' and listen to this stunning collection of stories from former slaves.

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Traces f the Trade

Traces of the Trade
by director Katrina Browne

Date: June 18, 2008
Screening: 6:00 p.m.

Run Time: 71 minutes
Admission: FREE

Click Here to view trailer.

Catch Traces of the Trade on the big screen before it makes its small screen PBS debut. This insightful documentary follows filmmaker Katrina Browne and nine fellow family members on a remarkable journey which brings them face-to-face with the history and legacy of New England's hidden enterprise.The film follows ten DeWolf descendants (ages 32-71, ranging from sisters to seventh cousins) as they retrace the steps of the Triangle Trade, visiting the DeWolf hometown of Bristol, Rhode Island, slave forts on the coast of Ghana, and the ruins of a family plantation in Cuba.

From 1769 to 1820, DeWolf fathers, sons and grandsons trafficked in human beings. They sailed their ships from Bristol, Rhode Island to West Africa with rum to trade for African men, women and children. Captives were taken to plantations that the DeWolfs owned in Cuba or were sold at auction in such ports as Havana and Charleston. Sugar and molasses were then brought from Cuba to the family-owned rum distilleries in Bristol. Over the generations, the family owned 47 ships that transported thousands of Africans across the Middle Passage into slavery. They amassed an enormous fortune. By the end of his life, James DeWolf had been a U.S. Senator and was reportedly the second richest man in the United States.

The DeWolf descendants are confronted with questions that apply to the nation as a whole: What, concretely, is the legacy of slavery-for diverse whites, for diverse blacks, for diverse others? Who owes who what for the sins of the fathers of this country? What history do we inherit as individuals and as citizens? How does Northern complicity change the equation? What would repair-spiritual and material-really look like and what would it take?

NPR, POV logoThis event is a collaboration with the award-winning documentary series P.O.V. (www.pbs.org/pov)

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man reading

CFAC Barnes & Noble Bookfair Fundraiser

Dates: June 19th - 26th
Location: Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Address: 3454 Erie Blvd-Dewitt, NY

Support CFAC and stock up on your summer reading! Buy a book or two at Barnes & Noble Bookstore June 19th through the 26th and a portion of the proceeds will be donted to the Community Folk Art Center. Check out the books above about colonial and contemporary enslavement and look for more titles on the Juneteenth display at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore located in Dewitt.

Click Here to download Barnes and Noble voucher (in .pdf format).

CarrollBarnes & Noble Artist and Author Q & A
Guest Speakers: Brantley Carroll & Douglas Egerton
Date: June 19, 2008
Time: 6:00 - 7:30p.m.

Admission: Free
Location: Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Address: 3454 Erie Boulevard East

The Community Folk Art Center in conjunction with Barnes & Noble is pleased to announce a booksigning and discussion forum with artist Brantley Carroll and author Douglas R. Egerton.

Carroll's reaserch into his family history and connection to slavery has culminated in his photographic exhibit "The Whipping Post"; on view at the Community Folk Art Center June 14th through August 16th. Speaking on his work, Carroll states, "as the descendant of an owner of enslaved persons, I find it imperative that I teach, learn, understand, revisit and revise the traditional view of this part of America's history."

LeMoyne College Professor and author Douglas R. Egerton will sign copies of his book "He Shall Go Out Free: The Lives of Denmark Vesey" and pose the following question to our B&N guests. How do we understand history? How does that understanding lead to unique conceptualizations of the past, and how do we reconcile these diverse perspectives? Join us in discussing these and related topics; selected works from Carroll's exhibit "The Whipping Post" will also be on display in the Barnes & Noble Cafe.

Professor Egerton became interested in history through his family and its troubled past. His paternal grandmother, the daughter of an elderly Confederate officer and slaveholder was born in Tennessee in 1885. When he was in high school, the series "Roots" was shown on television, and his normally soft-spoken grandmother became furious about the way in which the Old South was depicted. She assured him that they--meaning the planter class--"were always kind to our people," an inadvertent admission that African American slaves were indeed human property. Professor Egerton reflects on this moment stating, "I think that's when I decided to write and teach about race relations in the early American South".

Douglas R. Egerton received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Georgetown University, he is the author of the several books including, "Charles Fenton Mercer and the Trial of National Conservatism" (1989), "Gabriel's Rebellion" (1993), "He Shall Go Out Free: The Lives of Denmark Vesey" (1999), and "Rebels, Reformers and Revolutionaries" (2002)

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Slaves

Presentation:
"Enslaved Labor & the U.S. Capitol"

Guest Speaker: Felicia Bell
Date: June 20th, 2008
Time: 6:00 - 8:00pm

Admission: Free & Open to Public

The Community Folk Art Center is honored to host guest speaker Felicia Bell, Director of Education and Outreach at the United States Capitol Historical Society J. Currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Howard University, Ms. Bell will present her work about the building trades and use of slave labor to build the United States Capitol.

Her research has attracted the attention of lawmakers and in November 2007 she gave expert witness testimony before Congress about the use of black labor to build the United States Capitol. Her testimony, along with others, resulted in a bill naming the Capitol Visitors Center's great hall, "Emancipation Hall." President George W. Bush signed the bill into law in December 2007.

Ms. Bell was inspired to do research and create the Society's traveling exhibit, "From Freedom's Shadow: African Americans and the United States Capitol," after taking a guided tour of the Capitol where the contributions of African Americans was scarcely a subject of discussion. The exhibit examined the black experience at the Capitol from construction of the building to the experiences of current African American Members of Congress.

Prior to moving to Washington, D. C., Ms. Bell was the Director of Education and Programs at the Coastal Heritage Society in Savannah, Georgia. She graduated from Savannah State University, the oldest public university in Georgia for African Americans, in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in history. She earned a master's degree in historic preservation in 2002 from Savannah College of Art and Design, which has been recognized as one of the nation's leading institutions in historic preservation.

Ms. Bell's presentation with will be followed by a Q&A session and light reception. Bring a friend and join in the conversation.

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ChildPresentation:
The Forgotten Ones: Enslaved Children in the Caribbean

Guest Speaker: Dr. Sheila Aird
Date: June 21, 2008
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Admission: Free

The Community Folk Art Center is honored to host guest speaker Dr. Sheila Aird, Assistant Professor and Academic Area Coordinator of Global Studies at SUNY's Empire State College.

Dr. Aird's work "The Forgotten Ones: Enslaved Children in the Caribbean", fully examines the lives of the youngest victims of the trade in human cargo and explores both the physical and psychological ramifications of their enslavement. Although "The Forgotten Ones" sheds light on the lives of children in the Caribbean, it is the story of all enslaved children regardless of geographical location whose voices have been minimized in historical discourse.

Dr. Aird received her Ph.D. in Latin and Caribbean History and M.A. in History from Howard University. Prior to joining Empire State College, Dr. Aird was an adjunct Professor in the African American Studies Department at Syracuse University. Dr. Aird holds a BA in Anthropology and an M.A. in Anthropology with a focus on Historical Archeology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

She has been involved in several historical archaeological projects in St. John Virgin Islands and is currently involved with a project that centers on the Harriet Tubman House in Auburn, NY. Additionally, she worked on an awareness program in Syracuse, NY titled "Save the Faces." The citywide conservation and preservation effort centered on clay faces that had been sculpted on the basement walls of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, an abolitionist Underground Railroad site.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and light reception. Bring a friend and join in the conversation.

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Film Class

The Film Class
by filmmaker Uri Rosenwaks
Film Screening: June 26, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
Run Time: 53 minutes
Languages: English/Arabic
Admission: $5 GA $3 Student GA (valid with I.D)

Click Here to see film trailer.
Click Here to see interview with the director.

Centuries after they were brought to Palestine as slaves, black Bedouins still face discrimination. In 2004 filmmaker Uri Rosenwaks traveled to Rahat, a Bedouin town in Israel's Negev Desert, to teach a group of Black Bedouin women a class in filmmaking.

Afflicted with pessimism, unemployment, poverty and violence, Rahat is partially populated by Black Bedouins who were brought to the Middle East as slaves. Kidnapped in Africa by slave traders, they were auctioned-off in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Zanzibar, and until 50 years ago, Black Bedouins were enslaved by the White ones.

When the Israeli film director first started work with the group, the women never mentioned the issue. Only after about 18 months of working and making short films together, did he suggest that they make a film telling the history of the Black Bedouins. Suddenly, a small and modest course in filmmaking became a forum for the airing of the unspoken taboos and history of an entire society.

"36th Annual Teenage Competitive Art Exhibition"

Syracuse, NY- Teen artists of African American, Native American, Hispanic American and Asian American heritage are sought to display their work in the 36th Annual Teenage Competitive Art Exhibition at the Community Folk Art Center in Syracuse, from April 26th through May 24th, 2008. The exhibition is sponsored by the Community Folk Art Center and the Syracuse Chapter of the Links, Inc.

Artwork in all media is welcome. Artists must be between the ages of 13 and 19 to enter the their work. The competition will be judged by local artists and prizes will be awarded to the winners. Prize categories include two-dimensional (including paintings, drawings, prints, photography and mixed media) and three-dimensional (including ceramics, wood, metal, fibers and mixed media). The deadline for submissions is April 11th, 2008.

There will be an opening reception and awards presentation on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For more information about the exhibition, and to submit artwork, please call the Community Folk Art Center at 442-2230. The Community Folk Art Center is a unit of the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University.


AfriCOBRA: Liberated Images

Artist Panel Discussion: February 2, 3:00-4:00 p.m.

CFAC Annual Gala with Artist Reception: February 2, 7:00-10:00 p.m.


Keepin’ It Reel! ‘08

CFAC Cinematic Festival Celebrating Hip Hop

February 14-17, 2008


 

Faith Ringgold: Story Quilts & Children's Books

Saturday, September 8th, 2007
3 pm @ Watson Theater
(316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse / NY)

Program will include slides & lecture, followed by Q & A. Book signing afterward.

To purchase online, Click Here.

Tickets can also be purchased at the CFAC office
Tuesday - Saturday from 12 - 4 pm.


CFAC Cinema Thursday:
June 14, 7:00 p.m.

Been Rich All My Life

CFAC will continue its Cinema Thursday Series with a screening of the film Been Rich All My Life. The film, directed by Heather Lyn MacDonald, tells the story of the Silver Belles, a troupe of women tap dancers, ages eighty-four to ninety-six. The women met in the 1930's as chorus dancers at the Apollo and the Cotton Club. When the Big Band era ended, the women went into other work. They regrouped in 1985 and are still performing regularly. Admission for the film is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for students and $1.00 for ages three and under.


Bag-It: Works By Lori Crawford
Artist Reception and Gallery Talk:
June 16, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m

Bag-It: Works By Lori Crawford" is based on the "Brown Paper Bag Test," which dealt with the complexion of one's skin and whether it was lighter or darker than a brown paper bag. The works in the exhibition speak of the biases faced by each of the artist's subjects. The works offer a strong commentary on issues of prejudice faced every day in our modern society.


Illuminate the Arts Winter Break Camp Photo Show

This show contains photographs taken during the Illuminate the Arts Winter Break Camp at the Community Folk Art Center in February 2007. The portraits are of participants in the camp.

Artist reception and gallery talk Saturday, June 16th, 2007 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.


Beyond Boundaries Auction
May 19th from 2 pm - 4 pm


The Fathers' Project: Ellen Blalock
Artist Reception and Gallery Talk:
June 2, 2007 2:00 - 4:00 p.m


35th Annual Teenage Competitive Art Exhibition
Artist Reception and Awards Presentation: May 5, 2007 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.


Onondaga Dance Institute fundraiser : April 22, 2007 3:00-6:00 pm.


Empty Bowls a fundraiser for the Interreligious Food Consortium: April 21, 20071:00 - 6:00 pm


Willie Williams: This exhibition features photographs of Underground Railroad sites. The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work. January 16 - March 8, 2007

Soul of Syracuse: Folk Arts and Traditional Dances
Featuring: Burmese People of Syracuse, Sudanese Didinga of St. Vincent de Paul Church, Ahiska Turks from Russia March 31,2007 2:00 - 4:00 p.m


Dodji Koudakpo: An African Experiences
Artist Reception: March 24, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m


"Illuminate The Arts*" Winter Break Camp: February 19th thru February 23rd 2007
Click Here for info.

Weaving A Legacy:  Perspectives on Civil Rights
(a workshop series, Feb. 10, Feb. 17 and Feb. 24, 2007)
Click Here for info.


World premiere performance of The New Syracuse Quintet.
Saturday, February 3, 2007 from 7:00 to 11:00 PM.
Click Here for info. Click Here to download RSVP for Gala.


CFAC Anniversary Celebration: February , 2007


CFAC Cinema Thursday: February 1,2007 7:00 p.m.


Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Artist Reception and Gallery Talk: January 20, 2007 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.


Three Brothers: The Art of Oren Lyons, Rick Hill and Tracy Thomas
Artist Reception: December 9, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Artist Workshop: December 16, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

CFAC Cinema Thursday: December 14, 7:00 p.m.

The Heart Gallery
Artist Reception: November 4, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Artist Panel Discussion: November 18, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Reel 06 CFAC logo

Thursday, October 12th

Artist Talk Featuring:
Filmmaker & Scholar Yvonne Welbon

7pm
Sisters in Cinema
Yvonne Welbon
This film traces the careers of inspiring African American women filmmakers from the early part of the 20th century to today. As the first documentary of its kind, Sisters in Cinema creates a strong visual history of the contributions of African American women to the film industry. Please join us for a post screening conversation with filmmaker Yvonne Welbon.

Friday, October 13th

7pm
Short Film Showcase
Please join us as we screen a number of short films and experimental video art by cutting edge filmmakers.

9pm
Breakin In: The Making of a Hip Hop Dancer
Elizabeth St. Philip
This edgy documentary follows three young Black women as they compete for roles in hip hop music videos. Through their eyes we see how this world has impacted their personal values, their career ambitions and their concepts of beauty and self-image.

Saturday, October 14th
Children's Hands-On Workshop & Film Screening

2pm
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Bernadine Connelly
Illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan
This illustrated story is about Peg Leg Joe and a brave group of enslaved children who follow the drinking gourd north to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Please stay for children's hands-on workshop with Follow the Drinking Gourd Illustrator Yvonne Buchanan


5pm
Flag Wars
Linda Goode Bryant
Flag Wars is a stark look inside the conflicts that surface when Black working-class families are faced with an influx of White gay homebuyers to their Columbus, Ohio neighborhood. Filmed over four years, Flag Wars' "as-it-is-happening" verite style captures the raw emotions and blunt honesty of unguarded moments as tensions mount between neighbors.

7pm
Sisters in Law
Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto
In the town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for 17 years. But two women determined to change their community are making progress that could change the world. This fascinating, often hilarious doc follows the work of State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba as they help women fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent.

Admission: $5.00 general admission / $3.00 students / $1.00 12 and underFor more information please call: 442-2230 or email us: cfac@syr.edu

 

The Community Folk Art Center is a program of the African American Studies Department in the College of Arts & Sciences at Syracuse University and
is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.
805 East Genesee Street  :: Syracuse New York  13210  ::  (315) 442-2230  ::  FAX: (315) 442-2972 :: e-mail: cfac@syr.edu
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