Culture Queen : I Like The Me I See!
You're invited to the I Like the Me I See! Book Release Party for royal children and families!
On Sunday, September 29th at a Book Signing Party at the Prince George's African American Museum! Inspired by the uplifting lyrics of my popular song "I Like the Me I See!" from the children's album by the same title, the rhythmical text accompanies vibrant images of royal children and I celebrating all the qualities that make us who we are. Solomia Kovalchuk's rich, colorful illustrations were inspired by photos of ten years' worth of my real-life interactions many Culture Kingdom Kids programs.
Hard Cover : $25
Soft Cover: $20
*Each book can be autographed and personalized with the name of your prince or princess*
Museum Day Live!
Museum Day is a day to celebrate the importance of museums and what they have to offer to local communities by allowing free entrance. The Prince George’s African American Museumand Cultural Center is joining the national initiative of MuseumDay Live! to will promote the theme of storytelling through art and music.
Music and Art are dynamic vehicles for spreading community change around the world and we will showcase music/live painting by our artist in residence Vanessa R. Williams as part of the exhibit 'Catharsis: Spirit Leaves A Mark' to show visitors ways they can use the arts to transform the world and engage with social justice.
What is Juneteenth?
Find out more about our festival HERE
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a national celebration of the emancipation from slavery in 1865. In 1865 freedom was achieved in many ways, some fought the confederate troops, others escaped and ran. With the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment, enforced in December of 1865, African Americans were liberated from Confederate territories where slavery became illegal. While 4 million enslaved people were granted their freedom before the end of the civil war, other states such as Texas was a refuge for slave owners who held African American people as property, some say 1-2 years after Abraham Lincoln had already declared an end to slavery. Finally, on June 19th, enslaved people in Texas were granted their freedom.
“This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."
By 1900 African American people in Texas celebrated June 19th unofficially as Emancipation day, supported by churches and civic organizations. In 1980 Juneteenth became an official holiday in Texas and by 1997 US Congress officially recognized the day as ‘Juneteenth Independence Day.’
Why Should We Celebrate?
All over the world people celebrate Juneteenth to recognize our ancestor’s liberation from slavery, not as a historic event of our past, but as a triumph and achievement for Black people in America, that is still relevant today. This day remains as one of the many reminders of how powerful and resilient we are as a group of people, in our daily fight to justify our human rights and equality in America. Black people in America have tried to be eradicated in a myriad of ways, but Juneteenth reinforces the solidarity of our traditions, culture and our history that continues to make us stronger.
How Can We Celebrate?
People celebrate by holding festivals, family gatherings, contests, games and giving back to their communities. As ‘A Home for Black Excellence’’ PGAAMCC proudly presents the #MoreThanAMonth four-day festival, full of joy, cultural excitement and entertainment for the whole family, this June 19th through Saturday June 22nd culminating in a community block party 12-7pm. Our 2019 theme is inspired by the honorable Marcus Garvey’s quote, “Up You Mighty Race, Accomplish What You Will!” Marcus Garvey, Jamaican born Pan-African icon, was instrumental in establishing a historic mass movement for the liberation of Black people all over the world. Central to his message was political, social and economic self-determination. He organized the Black Star Line, a ship organized to trade commerce between Africans on the west and the African continent.
We recognize past accomplishments across the African diaspora, and seek to empower Black futures, innovators, and community influencers. Our festival emphasizes themes on freedom, black excellence, survival, resilience, and victory. Our festivals support Black owned vendors, artists, cultural organizations, and arts entrepreneurs. Join us in the celebration of Juneteenth. Find out more HERE!
Evening of Excellence: Dance Our Legacy Scholarship Award Ceremony
Evening of Excellence: Dance Our Legacy Scholarship Award Ceremony
Come celebrate the First Annual Scholarship established just for the Outstanding Young Dancers of Prince George's County, the Dance Our Legacy Scholarship 2019-2020.
GET TICKETS HERE
This wouldn't be possible without YOU, our Community.
So please, be our Distinguished Guest!
We will be...
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Recognizing our community of Supporters, Advocates and Sponsors that made Dance Our Legacy Scholarship Fund possible.
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Enjoying dynamic performances from DMV's best Performing Artists: BREathe Dance Project & Awardee Soloist
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Hearing from the International Association of Blacks in Dance Inc.
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Launching Creative and Equal Opportunities Inc.
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Awarding Ms. Ambar Matos for her committment, passion and exceptionalism. Our FIRST Dance Scholar & Awardee
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Fellowshipping & Celebrating LIFE Together
Please indicate in your RSVP if (1) other guest will be joining you.
This is a private event held in an intimate gallery space we can only accommodate 60 people total.
Thank you for respecting this REQUEST.
Attire is Semi-Formal/Sunday's BEST Casual
NO Children under the age of 12 please.
Light Refreshments will be served following the Performances/Ceremony.
We will promptly conclude and wrap up at 5:45 PM
Parking is plentious at this location!!!
Juneteenth #Morethanamonth Festival Press Release
Juneteenth 2019
More Than a Month Festival
GET TICKETS HERE
North Brentwood, MD (May 2, 2019) – Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center is ‘A Home for Excellence’’ and we proudly present #MoreThanAMonth, a four-day festival full of joy, cultural excitement and entertainment for the whole family. Our 2019 theme is inspired by the honorable Marcus Garvey’s quote, “Up You Mighty Race, Accomplish What You Will!” We recognize past accomplishments across the African diaspora, and seek to empower Black futures, innovators, and community influencers.
This year we launched our ‘More Than a Month’ campaign that celebrates Black creatives, innovators and community influencers year-round. Our campaign is a multiplatform engagement initiative that seeks to drive social awareness to highlight the accomplishments and upward mobility of the Black DMV community. Through this campaign we have developed public programming that serves the diverse needs of our supporters through educational events, workshops, festivals, and exhibitions.
Come celebrate Juneteenth at our More Than A Month Festival, a jubilant journey through Black history and Black futures! #MoreThanAMonth affirms and supports all that we do and all we have done. #MoreThanAMonth festival brings the spirit of Pan Africanism alive, with informative chats, live entertainment, wellness + sports, food and fun! Learn, Create, Connect @PGAAMCC.
Our festival will be featured in conjunction with Halycon’s second annual By the People festival. As a museum and community center our work aligns with the Halycon: By The People 2019 initiative to highlight intersectionality through contemporary art and social interactions. DC’s arts and dialogue festival brings people together around the themes of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The festival showcases the rich arts and culture scene and the celebration of local creatives.
Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center is a rich and celebrated treasure of the Gateway Arts District and model for cultural origination, brining attention, prestige, and business development to the local North Brentwood, Prince George’s County Community. Through public events and exhibitions PGAAMCC explores the Black experience within a variety of contexts – history, arts and culture, ethnicity, religion, spirituality, faith, folk tradition and customs.
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Juneteenth Event Schedule:
Sunday, June 16th 2-5pm | Sunday Scholar Brunch $25
Fatherhood: the significance in the 21st century. A biographical and historical evaluation of the concept of fatherhood with Robert Rouse.
Robert Rouse is a native Washingtonian, who has been married to Denise for thirty-two years. They are the proud parents of two wonderful young women. While serving as a firefighter he mentored numerous young men and boys for more than two decades. Though his parents divorced in his youth, he maintained contact with his father and sought out, albeit subconsciously, positive men in the community and school to emulate. Those years were impactful, thus in adulthood he began in earnest providing a positive example to others in his community.
Wed. June 19, 6-9pm | From U Street to the Cotton Club $10
“Take the A-Train” on a musical journey through DC’s thriving live music scene. U Street roaring nightlife, mirrored the most famous of Harlem clubs, hear song covers of Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and DC’s own Duke Ellington from ‘In Series’ local talents, Krislynn Perry, Nigel Rowe and Reenie Codelka on piano. Hear hit tunes, such as: Minnie The Moocher, I’ve Got The World on A String, Stormy Weather, Ain’t Misbehavin’ & More!
‘For the Culture’ | Conversation moderated by Monica Montgomery + Creators Coalition panelists + Andre Taylor of On Us Tees
Thurs. June 20, 6-9pm FREE | The Observable Universe by Education Curator Dr. Synatra Smith
Reimagine time and space through technology and fantasy! The Observable Universe is an interactive discussion of Afrofuturist films throughout the Diaspora from the 1970s to the present. We explore such films as Touki Bouki, Space Is the Place, and City of God. Share, engage, and be inspired to create your own Afrofuturist observable universe!
Fri. June 21, 6-9pm | Summer Solstice Fashion Show | Fashion Show (6-7:30 pm) + Afterparty (7:00-9pm) Cost: $15 (fashion show entry w/ 1 free drink), $25 (fashion show entry, after party, 1 free drink, gift bag, Soul Illuminance cup)
PGAAMCC presents Summer Solstice Fashion Show!
Experience Black Star Fashions and walk the red carpet and celebrate summer green designs from featured multi-media artist, Quest Skinner. Coming off of a Catharsis installation on the National Mall, Quest is bringing vibrant, colorful, decadent, and transformative designs to PGAAMCC’s #MoreThanAMonth festival. Join us as we celebrate Black beauty, Black fashion, and Black creatives all year round.
Her style is “influenced by seeing ourselves as a full spectrum of colors, shapes, and spirits. The clothing collection is West African, Apache, and modern infused fabrics with lines that flatter all shapes and sizes”. You don’t want miss it!
Sat. June 22, 12-7pm FREE | PGAAMCC Block Party
You are invited to the cookout! PGAAMCC and Creators Collaborative bring to you a Block Party for the whole family! Music, Games, Trivia, Food, Vendors, and Live Art will fill PGAAMCC’s parking lot and outdoor pavillion. And if you can’t take the heat come inside and experience our 3 galleries, with exclusive talks with artists and community leaders on Education, Wellness, and Financial Literacy.
In collaboration with Creators Coalition, JessBeCreative, On Us Tees, Museum Hue
GET TICKETS
Sunday Scholar Brunch: Easter Edition
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Come and enjoy an afternoon of breaking bread with fellow knowledge seekers, justice fighters, and social champions. This ticketed event includes brunch catered by a local Black chef and a presentation and community conversation by the designated scholar.
April's Scholar is Anthropologist, Researcher, and Professor, Michelle Chatman PhD!
Brunch Menu by Chef Teo:
Mini Bagels & Muffins
Veggie & Potato Hash
Scrambled Eggs
Spiced Wings
Shrimp & Grits
Fruit Platter
Dr. Chatman's lecture will explore Black Mindfulness: Cultural Practices for Healing, Joy, and Justice.
Mindfulness, the practice of present-moment, non-judgmental awareness, has been shown to promote overall well-being. Yet, African descended people have long held mindful cultural practices to sustain us through challenges and triumph. In this experiential lecture, Dr. Michelle Chatman will share stories, songs, and the science of mindfulness; inviting us to return to the wisdom long held by our elders and ancestors.
Dr. Michelle Chatman is an Assistant Professor in the Crime, Justice, and Security Studies program at The University of the District of Columbia, where she integrates mindfulness and contemplative approaches into her instruction and leads the university’s mindfulness Initiative. Dr. Chatman is Research Fellow in the RWJF Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (IRL) Program. With her research team, she will be piloting a mindfulness and restorative-justice based violence prevention initiative for DC youth. In her compelling TEDx talk, Dr. Chatman links her contemplative work to her volunteerism in The Gambia, West Africa (link below). Though a native Washingtonian, Dr. Chatman now resides in Prince George's county with her husband and daughter.
The Thornton Business Hour "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence"
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Soul Illuminance: a Retrospective of Quest Skinner
Soul Illuminance: A Retrospective of Quest Skinner
EXHIBITION OPENING:
Get Tickets HERE
North Brentwood, MD (January 30, 2019) – The Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC) is proud to announce the exhibition opening of Soul Illuminance: A Retrospective of Quest Skinner Friday, February, 8, 6-9pm. Join us and experience the dreamscapes, divine feminine representation, alchemy and abstraction that is Quest Skinner’s work.
Enter the surrealist dreamscape of lush textures and inner visions of internationally acclaimed artist, Quest Skinner. As a DC based artist, her influences range from the energy of cityscapes, music and people she encounters every day to the Burning Man festival, indigenous culture and the divine feminine. Her studio practice involves alchemy, taking raw feelings, vibrations and moments in our lives to transmute and reincarnate them with resin, paint, collage, sculpture and over 30 other mediums she works in. Quest’s artwork is a mixed media tapestry of flowing pigment and vibrant color, which tells a story that demands to be seen, changing with every person who sees her work. ‘Art is the poor man's bar of gold… We are here to create and be creatives and creators.’ Quest Skinner
Quest has spent years selling her art at Eastern Market in Downtown DC. She takes pride in selling original art work and her clients always walk away with a one of a kind original, rather than manufactured prints. As a result, every year, she changes her style to reflect one year of experiences, creating 50 to 150 pieces per week, and selling nearly half of what she produced per weekend at Eastern Market. She continues to evolve with her work, and the art in our galleries are an extension of Quest Skinner’s 2018 collection.
Quest’s goal is to paint reflections of fierce, fancy, and unapologetic femininity. ‘Men are not our beasts of burden, and we should not treat them as such’. Her depictions seek to challenge the societal norms that suggest that men and women have equal footing in relationships, the workplace, and within their own identities. This idea is manifested with images of warrior women slaying dragons, ballerinas and dancers striking a pose, and intricate body busts of the male and female anatomy. In addition, the dirty pour style creates lush abstract art that can be interpreted and viewed dynamically in a reading of the ink blots.
Curated by PGAAMCC Executive Director Monica Montgomery, the exhibition creates conversations between historical and contemporary artists of diverse cultural backgrounds exploring a broad range of themes including the body, identity, materiality, and private versus public selves.
The Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center is recognized nationally and internationally for its innovative approach to the documentation, interpretation, preservation, and presentation of local and regional African American history, art, and culture. PGAAMCC is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm. Admission to the museum is free. For more information, call (301) 809-0440, email programs@pgaamcc.org, or visit the Museum’s website at www.pgaamcc.org.
Creative Culture, Vol. 1 - Black Love
About this Event
First Fridays – PGAAMCC X Creative Culture
The Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center in conjunction with Creative Culture, brings to you a celebration of artistry. Historically, the preservation of art that informs or symbolizes a culture, occupies a sacred space within our society. Museums are a way of preserving and highlighting our history and a journey to a museum often allows us to transport ourselves to another time and place, forgetting the cares of the current world. The same can be said of art – it preserves and transports us while at the same time giving life to a physical, musical or visual representation of an emotion or thought. With art, we can lose ourselves in its beauty, be informed by a creation or allow the art to transform us in some way. Through art we can uplift and inspire. Through art we can open minds and reframe opinions. Through art we can tell a story that builds a bridge between cultures, not a wall.
How our culture infuses our collective psyche giving rise to performance artists creating more unique art, is the creative space through which we aim to highlight artists. Our goal is to give a safe performance space for the creative cultural juxtaposition of art, social commentary, political explorations and matters of the heart. We seek to showcase culture in dynamic tandem with gifted artists performing across a variety of mediums. Come out and support these artists the first Friday of every month as they showcase their range of skills. Along with a changing line-up of live performances, local food & drink vendors will be on site bringing a myriad of flavors to the party. Additionally, a variety of local retail brands will be present. February is Black History month and the First Friday performance on February 1st will celebrate Black Love. Network, be inspired or simply come to enjoy local performers. To support and register for each Creative Culture First Friday events at PGAAMCC, please visit CreativeCulture.Live.
Get Tickets HERE!
