CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS | Dirty Sensibilities: A 21st Century Exploration of the New American Black South
by Shantrelle Bumaye on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 5:15pm
Dirty Sensibilities: A 21st Century Exploration of the New American Black South
Presented by: Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
Curated By: Shantrelle P. Lewis
(Please distribute to your networks.)
Dirty Sensibilities will explore contemporary realities of life in the South from a cultural, political, cosmological and sociological perspective. Although the show is open to people currently living in the South, preference will be given to work by artists who were born and raised in the South, particularly those with generational roots.
Much of what is known about the Black experience in the South focuses on a historical period often directly related to the oppression of enslaved Africans, their struggle for liberation and their struggles for Civil Rights after the brief period of progress experienced during Reconstruction. The Southern narrative includes a history rich in culture, spirituality and Africanisms that have thrived over the past four hundred plus years. This exhibition seeks to explore those idiosyncrasies that are unique to the the region of the United States situated below the Mason Dixon Line. Artists are invited to create pieces that explore the race relations in the Age of Obama, the survival of folk traditions, the concept of “Southern” hospitality, a post-Civil Rights reality, the significance of relationships with elders and the creation of a new Southern aesthetic. Artists are asked to consider (but are not limited to) the following:
- What is the relationship of Southern people to the land and earth?
- How were families and communities affected by the Great Migration?
- What is the nature of race relations post-integration?
- How has the influx of Latinos influenced the Black/White dichotomy of Southern Society?
- What examples of Africanisms still exist?
- What is the role of the family reunion?
- What is the relationship between folks and their relatives “Up North?”
- What is the role of spirituality - Christianity, Voodoo/Hoodoo, Roots, in the community today?
- What is Southern Hospitality?
- How have traditional aesthetic forms (music, culinary, dance, folk art) evolved, declined and/or been preserved over the past century?
- Are HBCUs still necessary?
Southern artists of African descent are invited to create and submit pieces for consideration for this new exhibition. Artists are encouraged to submit provocative and dynamic work of all media - sculpture, photography, painting, printmaking, illustration, installation, graphic design, and video.
SUBMISSIONS
In order for your submission to be considered complete, please forward ALL of the items below:
1. Please submit 5-10 jpeg images with descriptions completed on Inventory List (title, medium, dimensions, date(s) of completion). Images should be submitted via a flickr link or CD.
2. CV or Resume
3. Artist Statement – as it relates specifically to the exhibition’s topic.
4. Brief bio
5. For videos, email link or file. (Must be Quicktime compatible).
6. Submission Application
7. Inventory ListIncomplete submissions will not be considered.
NOTE: Please upload images via flickr and send a link. Please be prepared to submit hi-res images upon request.
Forward submissions and questions to:
Shantrelle P. Lewis at slewis@cccadi.org
DEADLINE
July 15, 2011
EXHIBITION DATES
September through December, 2011
About CCCADI
The Caribbean Cultural Center/African Diaspora Institute, commonly known as the Caribbean Cultural Center, was conceived in 1976 by Dr. Marta Moreno Vega with the vision to create an international organization promoting and linking communities of African descendants wherever our communities are present. Dedicated to making visible to the populations of New York and our communities worldwide, the invisible history, culture, and welfare of peoples of African descent, the Center is based in New York City, but effectively works for the social, cultural, and economic equity of African Diaspora communities everywhere.
About the Curator:
Shantrelle P. Lewis is a native of New Orleans who returned home in September 2007 to assist in its revitalization efforts after a 12-year stint on the east coast. In October 2009, Ms. Lewis relocated to New York, where she is currently the Director of Public Programming and Exhibitions at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. For two years, she worked in the capacity of Executive Director and Curator of the McKenna Museum of African American Art. Having received her bachelor's and master’s degrees in African American Studies from Howard and Temple Universities respectively. Ms. Lewis has demonstrated a commitment to researching, documenting and preserving African Diasporan culture.
Her curatorial credits include exhibitions on a variety of topics ranging from African Spirituality to a tribute to world renowned photographer Jamel Shabazz. She has worked with a host of emerging artists in various media. Past exhibitions include “audacious! the lost fotography and films of funk diva betty davis” with Numa Perrier, “Wearing Spirit: Aesthetically Personifying the Feminine within African Sacred Traditions”, “Life After Death: A Multi-Media Analysis with the Persona that Was/Is Fela Anikulapo Kuti. “Dandy Lion: Behold A Gentleman” in association with Society HAE, “SOS: Magic, Revelry and Resistance in Post-Katrina Art” and “Re-Imagining Haiti’s Standing With Papa Legba and Le Projet Noveau” in partnership CCCADI and MoCADA, which was co-curated with Shante’ Cozier. Most recently she curated the controversial exhibition “Sex Crimes Against Black Girls” for Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Skylight Gallery.
“Dirty Sensibilities” Application Form
Name_______________________________ Age_________ Gender_________
Birthplace ______________________Telephone_________________
Email _____________________Address_____________________________
Website ____________________________________________________________
Home or Studio Address_______________________________________________
Please indicate your affiliation to the South:EntriesType(s) of work I am submitting (check all that apply)□Painting □Photography □Mixed-Media □Digital □Writing □Installation □Drawing □Film/Video □Sculpture □Printmaking
□Other: __________________________________
Inventory List (should be completed for each piece that is submitted).
Entry Info:
Title______________________________________________________________________
Medium __________________________________________________________________
Year______________________________________________________________________
Dimensions and Weight___________________________________________________
This entry is submitted via: □flickr link □CD/DVD
Entry Info:
Title______________________________________________________________________
Medium __________________________________________________________________
Year______________________________________________________________________
Dimensions and Weight___________________________________________________
This entry is submitted via: □flickr link □CD/DVD
Entry Info:
Title______________________________________________________________________
Medium __________________________________________________________________
Year______________________________________________________________________
Dimensions and Weight___________________________________________________
This entry is submitted via: □flickr link □CD/DVD
St. Helena Island, South Carolina
St. Helena Island, South Carolina
