Harlem Arts Alliance Presents: On the “A” w/Souleo
It is universally noted that Harlem is one of the premier arts and culture centers of the world, but to sustain that legacy requires greater economic support, visibility and unity amongst institutions. In an effort to promote these values, the Harlem Arts Alliance recently kicked off its Harlem Arts Summit during Harlem Arts Advocacy Week. Under the theme “Harlem at the Crossroads: Sustaining Our Arts and Cultural Resources,” the seven-day series of free events kicked off on Oct. 1 with presentations to actor and activist Danny Glover, legendary theatrical producer Vy Higginsen, pioneering arts producer/consultant Mikki Shepard and businessman and arts supporter, Fred Powell of Barbara’s Flowers at Aaron Davis Hall (The City College of New York).
Glover received the HAA Humanitarian Award and delivered an address about the role of arts and culture in promoting activism. “Art can be many things,” Glover said. “It can be a tool that brings us to action.”
Those that attend the tour may also want to stop by the new exhibition, “Unveiled/Unlocked,” curated by visual artist, Aleathia Brown. The exhibition being held at The City College of New York; Windows on Amsterdam Gallery located @the NAC Building Plaza addresses perceptions of beauty as visual artists present images about the struggles and triumphs of women with bare heads. Standouts from the exhibit include Jimbe’s photograph, “Opposite Direction,” which casts a tall bald female model in a dark mysterious shadow as onlookers gasp and stare at her image of proud beauty; and Beau McCall’s “Pretty Bald,” which dismantles notions of beauty in the commercial realm by featuring a bare head doll on a bed of pink and white buttons.
“We speak to the social justice of the bare head woman by unveiling her existence to celebrate and acknowledge her presence,” Brown notes. “Often she is underrepresented, misunderstood and in a sea of hair headed people alone, bare headed and negatively judged.”
Editor’s Note: In last week’s column we announced the dates of the “Def Poetry Jam” reunion event. However the show has been postponed until further notice due to construction delays at the venue. Please visit MIST for updates.
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