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Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Soul! Project Explores African American Experience Through The Arts
Exhibits, Programs Highlight Culture's Rich Heritage at Ohio Historical Center
(Columbus, Ohio) - A 10-month-long exhibition opening at the Ohio Historical Center May 1 will showcase the "art and soul" of African American history and culture and offer exhibit goers a studio space where they can create artwork to tell their own stories.
The focal point of Soul! Art from the National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center is a display of 119 works dating from 1835 to 2003 that reflect African heritage, family, self-determination, love, celebration and other experiences deriving from being Black in America. Comprised of art on loan from the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio, the exhibit features works in a variety of media by many renowned artists, including Benny Andrews, Richmond Barthé, Elizabeth Catlett and Willis "Bing" Davis.
"Our goal for the Soul! Project is to give people of all cultures the opportunity to recognize the passions in the hearts and souls of these African American artists and to identify similar emotions and experiences in their own lives," said Connie Bodner, OHS director of education and interpretation services. "Art can be a bridge between cultures and through art people often find more commonalities than differences."
A 1,000-square-foot space next to the exhibit called The Studio will host related educational programs. Weekends will feature half-hour gallery tours and on many weekends African American guest artists will conduct workshops in doll making, jewelry, poetry and various other art media. Among visiting artists will be Queen Brooks and Willis "Bing" Davis. On seven consecutive Saturdays beginning next Jan. 16, exhibit visitors can visit The Studio to help create a massive public mural entitled "Living in a Diverse Community."
The Ohio Historical Society's History-to-Go van will be transformed into the Art-to-Go van will take Soul!-related programs to Columbus-area schools during the academic year and to community centers and group events in the summer.
The Society's traditional Blast from the Past summer day camps this year will offer four Soul! sessions for kids ages 6-8 and three sessions for children ages 9-11, allowing kids to make their own interpretations of exhibited works and related activities and to use The Studio to create dolls, masks, metal works and other art forms that will be displayed at concluding family events. For Soul! day camp dates, visit www.ohiohistory.org/summercamps.
"We want people to feel good and feel empowered in creating their own works of art," Bodner said. "We just want people to tap into their own creativity and enjoy the experience."
Soul! runs through Feb. 28, 2010. Rotating companion exhibits, also from the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, will focus on African American jazz, dance, quilt-making and spirituality as well as on the story of white abolitionist John Brown. Making Music: Jazz Photographs by Luis Figgs and Golden Motions: Celebrating the Art of Dance by Ademola Olugebefola will be on display May 1–Aug. 30; The Legend of John Brown: Serigraphs by Jacob Lawrence will run Sept. 5–Dec. 6; and Were You There? An Illustrated Spiritual by Allan Rohan Crite and Quilts with Soul will run Dec. 12–Feb. 28, 2010.
Sponsors of the Soul! Project are the Gordon Chandler Memorial Fund and Small Grants Program for the Arts of the Columbus Foundation. Community partners are the King Arts Complex and the Columbus Jazz Arts Group.
Admission to the Ohio Historical Center is $8/adults, $4/youth (ages 6-12) and free for OHS members and children 5 years of age and under. Museum hours are: Thursdays, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; and Sundays, noon–5 p.m.
The Ohio Historical Center is located at I-71 and 17th Avenue in Columbus. Parking is $4 per vehicle and free to OHS members. For information about the exhibit, including scheduling group tours, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.
Established in 1885, the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization, serves as the state's partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology, natural history and architecture. It provides services in nearly every community in the state.
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