Art Talk: A Conversation about Afro-Luminosity and the Art of Black Miami
MIAMI – Join Contemporary African Diaspora Art (CADA) and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau (GMCVB) in a lively and interactive conversation about Afro-Luminosity and the Art of Black Miami on Sunday, April 30, 2017 from 2:00pm-5:00 pm at the ARC, 675 Ali Baba Ave.
The event is free and is affiliated with the META Series at the ARC. Light refreshments will be served.
Artist talk will be moderated by Ludlow Bailey and will feature contributions from Ethiopian artist, Indrias Kassaye, Kandy Lopez, Michael Hudson and Saddi Khali.
The conversation will reflect the work of these artists whose work in many ways expresses some level of Afro-Luminosity.
Indrias Kassaye is an Ethiopian photographer whose work focuses on contemporary and ancient Ethiopian culture.
Saddi Khali is an African-American photographer whose work focuses on black portraiture and the mesmerizing beauty of the black body.
Kandy Lopez is a South Florida artist of Afro-Dominican descent. She is well known for her soulful, swag portraits that document the tumbao of African diaspora people in the US.
As a visual artist, Kandy Lopez explores constructed identities, celebrating the strength, power, confidence and swag of individuals who live in urban and often economically disadvantaged environments.
Through a variety of mediums, her images develop a personal and socially compelling visual vocabulary that investigates race, the human defense mechanism, visibility and armor through fashion, and gentrification. She wants her artwork to help educate, communicate, and foster uncomfortable topics that we seem to look past or avoid in our multicultural society.
Dr. Michael Hudson is a professor of Cultural Anthropology at Florida Memorial University. He is also a prolific painter, photographer and video artist. His work is influenced by the mythological concept that art should act to awaken hidden truths in both the artist and the viewer.
There will be a special performance by artist, Melody Cole.
What is Afro-Luminosity?
Afro-Luminosity is an energy field that is generated by the cultural expression of African people; a kind of cultural, spiritual, and artistic expression that captures the soul and quintessence of black creative genius.
Ludlow Bailey says “My experience as a curator of Contemporary African Diaspora Art and Culture, has taught me that many artists of Africa and African descendants have “Tumbao”, an expression used by Afro-Puerto Ricans to refer an indescribable sexiness or swing”.
In visual arts, this expression is exemplified by the work of David Hammons, Julie Mehretu, El Anatsui, Barkley Hendricks, Wifredo Lam, Jean Michel Basquiat, Frank Bowling, Yinka Shonibare, Robert McKnight, Martin Puryear, Mark Bradford, Whitfield Lovell, Kerry James Marshall, and Carrie Mae Weems.
It is often manifested in the music and visual cultural expression of Africans in the Diaspora. It is the creative genius of “black people globally. While difficult to capture in words, this unique exhibit of Afro-Luminosity, will present visual ideas that highlight Afro-Luminosity in contemporary black visual creative culture.
Please rsvp [email protected] or call 786 290-7359
