Transforming Anew: Perspectives of Black Men’ Highlights the Complexities of Black Life

-Featured exhibition at the Prince George’s County African American Museum thru May 9 –

 

For immediate release , March 1, 2015

 (North Brentwood, MD) Transforming Anew: Perspectives of Black Men, a new featured exhibit at the Prince George’s County African American Museum and Cultural Center (PGAAMCC), showcases the works of three contemporary artists and their interpretations of the Black male image. Transforming Anew: Perspectives of Black Men, on view until May 9, 2015, is derived from a poem by poet Nikky Finney entitled “At War With Ourselves,” which explores the experience of Black men and boys throughout American history.

A special artists’ afternoon talk session will be held March 21 at 2pm, free and open to the public.  The recently renovated museum is located in the Gateway Arts District at 4519 Rhode Island Avenue, North Brentwood, MD 20722.

“Transforming Anew” is a timely exhibit that provides insight into why current “Black Lives Matter” protests have been so impactful and on the heels of the  20^th anniversary of the Million Man March – both campaigns highlighting the conditions of Black men in America. “These young artists are able to express the ongoing journey of struggle and accomplishments of Black men through art and offer the opportunity to engage young people in a continued discussion on the complexities perception plays in the everyday lives of Black boys and men,” said Jon West-Bey, Chief Curator and Operations Officer, PGAAMCC. Artists Chanel Compton, Nehemiah Dixon and David Ibata provide images of Black men varied in their medium, presentation, and context, creating a collection of stories that mirror the wide-ranging experiences of the men themselves.

•  Chanel Compton works as an artist and lives by the strong belief that art is a vehicle to connect people.  Her work features portraits of historic Back slaves as young men, before they rebelled against their enslavement.
•  Nehemiah Dixon is a graduate of The Maryland Institute College of Art and a teaching artist whose “Suites of Armor” hoodie sculptures capture the complexities of fear and perceptions of young black men.
• David Ibata is an American-Jamaican-Congolese painter whose work focuses on figurative painting and portraiture and takes inspiration from contemporary cinema, current events, and personal history.

Transforming Anew: Perspectives of Black Men reflects the Prince George’s County African American Museum & Cultural Center’s commitment to the diversity of experience in African American communities and its aim to reflect the broad spectrum of social and cultural activities of these communities. By cherishing traditions and beliefs that the past informs the future and that bringing together diverse groups of people can create new approaches to cultural understanding.

This exhibition is proudly sponsored by Dr. Donald Wallace Jones, Dr. Betty Jean Tolbert Jones and Ms. Tracey Tolbert Jones and Mary-Frances Winters, President and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc.

The Prince George’s County 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 and culture. PGAAMCC is open Tuesday thru 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.