Arts on the Block: Celebrating Black Culture & Creativity

Co-organized by curator and founder of bldg fund, LLC, nico wheadon

On the occasion of 30 Americans, the NBMAA presents a daylong festival celebrating the living legacies of Black culture and creativity explored in the exhibition. The day’s activities are anchored by the exhibition’s three central themes: Self-Making and Identity; Adornment and Materiality; and Signs and Wonders. 

For more info or to join the vendor market, email [email protected].

Join us for the entire day or drop in for just one part.

Schedule:

10:30 a.m. | Coffee & Bites

11 a.m. | Curatorial Conversation with Brittney Yancy & Nicole Stanton - Moderated by nico wheadon

12 p.m. | Corey Pane Art Demonstration

12 p.m. | Children's Book Reading & Signing with Sheona Motshabi

• Listen to local author Sheona Motshabi read her first children’s book Backyard Bashment, a story highlighting celebration in the Jamaican culture and the essence of West Indian culture, togetherness, self-love, and sisterhood.

1 p.m. | Workshops & Tours

• Adornment with Siobhan Carter David
  • The work of the artists of 30 Americans is, among other things, reflective of Black fashion and beauty culture impulses of the last 50 years. Surveying the record of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, this session will review the ways in which the sartorialisms of this exhibition jibe with both assimilationist and cultural nationalist tendencies in dress and style as presented in the African American print culture of the post-Civil Rights era.
• Fashion Design Drawing with Natacha & Anise Juste-Saint
  • Fashion designers and owners of Saints by S.J., LLC clothing line will share their story of self-made entrepreneurship and lead participants in sketching one-of-a-kind fashion designs.

• Art-Making with Kwadwo Adae

2 p.m. | Spoken Word with Versatile Poetiq

2 p.m. | Docent-led Tours of 30 Americans

2:30 p.m. | Breakout Sessions

• Poetry Workshop with Antoinette Brim-Bell
• Sound Healing with Kelvin Young
  • Kelvin and Maria offer a holistic approach to relaxation, transformation, and healing through sound. During a session, Kelvin plays the crystal and Tibetan singing bowls, gong, ocean drum, chimes, and other healing instruments (tools) to activate the relaxation response to calm your mind, relax your body, and nourish your soul.

• Art-Making with Pierre Sylvain

4 p.m. | Happy Hour with live music 

Vendors Market All Day, Including:

• Rastarant
• Jodi Cup of Health
• Kishalee Unroofed
• Sweet House Bakes
• Bamn Books
• Shades of We By Shay Skincare
• Aspenne's Library
• Kelvin Young

Visitors can pre-register for the day. No registration required for individual events and talks.