Series of Events Highlights Cultural Contribution
Angelina College in February will honor Black History Month with a series of events including art galleries, guest speakers and musical performances.
Beginning with a public reception for artists in the Angelina Center for the Arts Gallery at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, the college will host events geared toward raising awareness of cultural contributions in all forms.
This year’s gallery is dedicated in memoriam to longtime contributing artist Dwight Gipson.
Group member and contributor Karen Moore-Christopher states, “As black artists we create more than just BLACK Art. We do not want you to lump us as artists together based on our race without looking at the art we are creating because it does not give enough credit to the work. Come and see ‘what we do’ and leave with and concede that ‘once you viewed’ there is something significant about the traditions of a black artist’s work that is empowering. It allows connections to be made in the curating process that make for meaning about black art. Black artists are practicing art that speaks loudly and unapologetically of and to the black experience.”
Group member and artist Shelia Thomas added, “As an artist, creating beauty is a challenge. Each time we pick up a canvas, it’s about the colors of the work. The artist who’s creating it happens to be African-American. The art has no boundaries – only the boundary of the mind. The joy is seeing and hearing people’s reactions to the paintings.”
Following is a list of scheduled events:
Feb. 1-24: Artists will display their works in various mediums in a gallery exhibited in the Angelina Center for the Arts Gallery on the AC campus.
Thursday, Feb. 3: Guest speaker Joseph Ceasar, who will offer a presentation titled “Finance and Business Ownership and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” The presentation takes place from 11:25 a.m. until 12:25 p.m. at AC’s Temple Theater.
Tuesday, Feb. 15: Guest speaker Johnny Giles will discuss “Local Black History and Voting Rights” from 11-11:20 a.m. at AC’s Hudgins Hall Auditorium.
Wednesday, Feb. 16: A screening of “Women of the Movement” will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at AC’s Hudgins Hall Auditorium.
Thursday, Feb. 17: Presenter Martha Hernandez of the Angelina County Health District will offer “Health Equality vs. Health Equity”, followed by a discussion, from 10:50 – 11:20 a.m. at AC’s Hudgins Hall Auditorium.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 22 and 23: Jazz and Blues bands – and the AC Chorale on the 23rd – will perform for attending fans from 10:50-11:20 a.m. in AC’s Hudgins Hall Auditorium.
All events offer free admission to the public. For further information, contact Krista Brown at kbrown@angelina.edu or Le’Anne Alexander at lalexander@angelina.edu.
