On Friday, February 8^th, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ruth & Harold D. Uris Center for Education, located at Fifth avenue at 81^st Street, NCAnewyork will honor seven outstanding history makers in the arts.  These include: 

Laurie Cumbo, Founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn’s The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporian Arts (MoCADA) a small, but extremely active and productive organization that is heralded for its many accomplishments in exhibitions and programming in the Brooklyn and greater New York areas;  

Jumaane E. N’namdi, who with his father George, operates three galleries in major markets: New York, Detroit and Chicago;  

Derrick Adams, adjunct professor of art and lecturer at Maryland Institute College of Art and founding Director and Curator of Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center;  

Josh Wainwright founder and producer of the annual National Black Fine Art Show; and the late Benny Andrews, beloved former board member of NCAnewyork and noted artist known for his collage works as well as sculpture, illustrations, drawings, paintings, and prints; also known as a writer and critic; work is part of the permanent collections of major art museums. Director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts from 1982-84 and professor at Queens College in New York.  Andrews’ award will be presented posthumously. 
 

NCA will also present panels on “Art of Historically Black Colleges & Universities” and “Historic Black Murals, Public Art & Architecture” with among others David C. Driskell, of the David C. Driskell Center for Research in Black Art; 

Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, Texas Southern University; Dr. Melvin Carver, North Carolina Central University; Tina Dunkley, Clark Atlanta University; Dr. Gabriel S. Tenabe, Morgan State University;  Dr. Michael Harris, Duke University; and Gilbert Young, Martin Luther King Monument.

Registration for the Conference will be FREE with your museum donation. The Metropolitan Museum has donated their marvelous facilities and equipment to support this Conference.  We hope that you will be as generous with your contributions to them as they have been with us. 


                          Otto Neals

Additional Conference Highlights 

On the evening of the opening day, February 8, NCAnewyork will have the first of three opening exhibitions, excerpts from a larger photographic exhibition and poetry conference planned for 2009.  The exhibition by NCAnewyork Executive Director Kwame Brathwaite, “Brother Bob – Blessed Dread,” a celebration of the 65^th birthday of reggae superstar Bob Marley, will be held at LeGrand Dakar Restaurant & Gallery on Grand Avenue in Brooklyn.  

The Conference will be held on Saturday, February 9, day two, at Columbia University’s Davis Auditorium, Shapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Re search located at 530 West120^th Street and Broadway. Panels will include the following: 

“Using Our History to Build Our Future” with NCA founder Dr. Burroughs, who also founded Chicago’s DuSable Museum and Southside Community Center and the seventy plus member organization, The Association of African American Museums, as well as with Ademola Olugebefola representing The Weusi Nyumba ya Sanaa Artists, Frank Smith representing AFRICOBRA, and Conference Honoree Laurie Cumbo of MoCADA. 

“A History of Black Arts Movements: From the Harlem Renaissance to the New Melanian or Melanian: the Presence of Black or Dark Color in the Arts” with NCAnewyork Executive Director, Kwame Brathwaite, (NCA former National President). 

Arts in Education as “Historically Black Colleges & Universities Speak Out on Art”, with honoree Dr. Coleman – Howard University; Dr. Melvin J. Carver, Chair of Art Department, North Carolina Central University and Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter of Black Artists of D.C. (BAD-C) and Education and Organization for the Visual Artists. 

“The Importance of Documentation & the History of Art Mecco” with Hugo R. Miller aka Hugeaux. 

“A History of Southern Arts Movements” with Ed Spriggs, Director Emeritus of Hammonds House Gallery (Atlanta), Dinizulu Tinnie of the Kuumba Artists of Southern Florida and Stella Jones of the Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans. 

On Saturday evening there will be a Gala Celebration, Reception and Opening of an Art Exhibition on Historic Arts Groups of the Black Arts Movement.  These groups include the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS, founded in 1956), Weusi Nyumba ya Sanaa, AFRICOBRA, Kamoinge Photographers and Where We At Black Women Artists.  The reception for the honorees, panelists and artists will be held at the Wilmer Jennings Gallery located  at Kenkeleba, 219 E. 2^nd Street. For information on GALA admission, contact NCAnewyork@aol.com.  

The final day of the Conference, Sunday, February 10 will be in Westchester at the Association of Community-Based Artists of Westchester Gallery (AC-BAW Gallery) located at 128 So. Fourth Avenue in Mt. Vernon. The Westchester Artist Exhibition will include an artist talk, reception and conference closing party. 

The conference has been made possible by the generous support of The RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundation, The Harlem Arts Alliance and Community Works.