Africa Umoja

African Umoja
October 30th - November 8th @ 7pm

With a cast of 32 of South Africa’s brightest and most versatile young performers, singers, drummers and dancers, AFRICA UMOJA – THE SPIRIT OF TOGETHERNESS, is a joyous celebration of dynamic talent, thrilling energy, great voices and sensual dances that sweep across the bright and vibrant South African traditional landscape. Marvel at the beautifully designed costumed and award winning international acclaimed choreography.

Porter Sanford Performing Arts & Community Center
3181 Rainbow Drive Decatur GA 30034 1-877-725-8849

Heritage Arts and Soul Festival: 7/25-7/27

Heritage Arts and Soul Festival:  
Friday, July 25 - Sunday, July 27, 2014 
at Underground Atlanta.

Come enjoy a celebration of heritage and culture at the 19th Annual Heritage Arts and Soul Festival at Underground Atlanta during a weekend filled with traditions and talent. Expand your knowledge of art and culture through the enjoyment of music, art, food and a variety of events to participate in each day. Discover over 30 artists and designers in the Artist Market where Fine Art, Wearable Art and Home Décor will be featured and available for purchase. Visitors can also enjoy an Emerging Artist Pavilion and Fashion show, as well as an assortment of entertainment including onsite demonstrations and lecture series, live music, and a food festival.

Artist Market
Discover over 30 artists and designers in the Artist Market where Fine Art, Wearable Art and Home Décor will be featured and available for purchase.

Entertainment
Lecture Series, Live Music, Special Events & more!

Food Festival
Enjoy cultural cuisine from our favorite food trucks, restaurants, caterers and creative food companies.

Festival Dates and Times:

• Friday, July 25: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Saturday, July 26: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Sunday, July 27: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Batik Workshop - Roswell Roots Festival: 2/15/2014

Roswell Roots Festival: Batik Workshop
Saturday, February 15 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Location:
Roswell Art Center
1355 Woodstock Road
Roswell, GA 30075
For more information call 770-641-3978
Cost:  $40 per person
www.roswellroots.com

In a four-hour workshop, Nuwa Nnyanzi will teach batik painting technique. Each student will create and take home an original batik painting. Students will learn how to prepare the fabric or surface, lay down the wax coating, design and dye the surface and create a piece of art. Students should bring a hand-held hair blow dryer, a regular electric iron, a stack of newspapers equivalent to three thick Sunday papers, and a pencil.

Reception for “Gems of Africa Gallery” Art Exhibit and Sale: 2/8/2014

Reception for “Gems of Africa Gallery” Art Exhibit and Sale
Saturday, February 8, 2014 from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Location:
Smith Plantation
935 Alpharetta Street
Roswell, GA 30075
For more information call 770-641-3978
Cost: FREE

www.roswellroots.com

Welcome and meet Wallene Jones, Keith Washington, and Nuwa Nnyanzi who will be available to discuss the art of the exhibition "Gems of Africa." All three have traveled extensively in Africa and have spent years collecting, creating, and selling contemporary African art. Join us for refreshments.

Batik Art Demonstration: 2/8/14

Batik Art Demonstration
Saturday, February 8, 2014  from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location:
Grimes Bridge Adult Recreation Center
830 Grimes Bridge Road
Roswell, GA 30075
For more information call 770-641-3978
Cost:  FREE
www.roswellroots.com

Nuwa Nnyanzi, a native of Uganda, is an artist specializing in original batik paintings, which are now world famous. Some of his works appear on calendars, magazines, book covers and greeting cards, among them UNICEF greeting cards. In 1992 he started Nnyanzi Art Studio in Kampala, Uganda, where he teaches and promotes other talented artists. Nnyanzi will demonstrate the art of batik with vibrant colors and rich techniques. The audience will see how batik is created while learning the origin and process involved in this unique and ancient art form.

Roswell Roots Festival African Art Exhibit

Gems of Africa Gallery Art Exhibit and Sale
When: Saturday, February 1, 8, 15 and 22
From: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location: Smith Plantation
935 Alpharetta Street
Roswell, GA 30075
For more information call 770-641-3978
Cost:  FREE
www.roswellroots.com

Gems of Africa Gallery in Atlanta offers one of the best and largest selections of contemporary African art anywhere. Wallene Jones began her exploration in Africa in 1981. Since then, she and her son Keith have successfully imported an array of African art, including Intu pottery, Ngwenya glass, Shona sculptures, South African bead and wire animals, driftwood sculptures, telephone wire baskets, batiks, and paintings and prints from all over Africa. All artwork is available to view and also for sale.

Batik Workshop

Gems of Africa Gallery is sponsoring a Batik Workshop by Nuwa Nnyanzi, the Master of Batiks, at Belly General Store located at 722 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA.  Call to reserve a space at 404-872-1003.  Dates are Thursday, August 15th from 12-4pm & Saturday, August 17th from 2-6pm.  The cost is $96.00 and includes all supplies as well as coffee and refreshments.

Bits of Africa: 2/21/2013

Fela: 2/23/2013-3/3/2013

Hugh Masekela at The Railto: 4/6/2013

GRAMMY-winning South African Jazz Trumpeter Hugh Masekela at The Rialto on Sat 04/06/13

With a discography that includes performances on the early recordings of Bob Marley and the early 1970s afro-beat of Fela Kuti, trumpeter and vocalist Hugh Masekela’s days since his Witbank, South Africa youth tell quite a story. Anti-apartheid chaplain Archbishop Trevor Huddleston gave Masekela a trumpet when he was just 14, and coupled with a love of Louis Armstrong 78 RPM records, he has used it as an instrument of peace and love ever since. On his new album Jubulani, Masekela reflects on the “boisterous abandon and joyous ululation” of the South African wedding music around which he was raised.

This is a Rialto Series performance.   
Check them out on You Tube.

Hugh Masekela, April 6, @ the Rialto, https://tickets.rialtocenter.org/Public/show.asp

Ayokunle Odeleye: Now thru 1/12/2013

Ayokunle Odeleye: 32 Years of Public Art - An Exhibition of Photographs, Drawings and Models of over three decades of Odeleye’s Public Art Projects,  

Now thru Jan 12, 2013 

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia 
75 Bennett Street, Suite A
Atlanta  30309  
404-367-8700 



Panel discussion on public art
Saturday, January 12, 2:00pm

Panelists include: Lisa Tuttle (moderator), Curtis Patterson, Eddie Granderson,
Matt Haffner, Maria Artemis, and Ayokunle Odeleye.

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) is pleased to host the retrospective exhibition of artwork by Master Sculptor, Ayokunle Odeleye. For over 30 years, Ayokunle has created monumental outdoor sculptures, bringing art into vital and interactive conversation with people all across the nation. His sculptures are not only reflections of the communities in which they are placed, they are often totems of inspiration, oasis' of beauty, in areas where the fluid and organic lines of his artwork is unexpected. 

 This exhibit, which includes models, drawings and photographs of sculpture commissioned for public spaces across the United States, represents an impressive body of work in a long career of art production by one of Georgia's celebrated Public Art specialists. 

MOCA GA is especially excited about this exhibition as it offers the public the unique opportunity to view the many processes undertaken by a professional sculptor in the design and execution of diverse and monumental gateway structures that serve as architectural markers for community identity.

The accompanying artist talks and panel discussions scheduled for the exhibit offer insight into the artist creative process and the dynamic, ever changing phenomena of Public Art.   

The Psychology of Beauty in the African Diaspora: 1/12/2013

By the Color of Their Skin: The Psychology of Beauty in the African Diaspora
Community Lecture Part 1

Saturday, January 12. 4:00 p.m.

In collaboration with Georgia State University the Auburn Avenue Research Library will host By the Color of Their Skin: The Psychology of Beauty in the African Diaspora, a community lecture series facilitated by Georgia State University Assistant Professor Dr. Kelly M. Lewis. Dr. Lewis will explore the historical and contemporary evolution of beauty in the African Diaspora focusing on issues around racial skin color and its impact on the health and psychological well being of Africans and populations of color throughout the African Diaspora.  http://afpls.org/aarl

Artists 2 Africa - Artistic Tour to Senegal: 10/6/2012

Join "Artists 2 Africa" on an Artistic Tour to Senegal and The Gambia for Artists and Art Lovers.

For decades artists have discussed the prospect of organizing a group trip to Africa tailored specifically for Artists. Well imagine a trip to Africa with acclaimed visual artists and art lovers! So if you think you would love to experience an historical pilgrimage and artistic cultural exchange in the motherland join us!

Participating artists include:
Larry Poncho Brown, Karen Y. Buster, Tommy Roberts, Francine Harris, Jerome White & Carren Clarke-Mcadoo to name a few. Stay tuned on this historical union of Artists!

The trip to Senegal West Africa is scheduled for October 6-16 2012
(Price per person $2999.00 based on double occupancy).   This price includes roundtrip air via South African Air, 5 star hotel in Dakar, transfers, meals, air conditioned transportation, English speaking guide, all entrance fees and taxes.

Please forward your full name, mailing address, and email address if you are interested to poncho@larryponchobrown.com ASAP!

Travel arrangements by Henderson Travel Service,
7961 Eastern Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910.
More information contact Harold Cook at 800-327-2309  x 509 or 301-650-5700

SEND YOUR $200.00 DEPOSIT AND RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY!

An Evening of Art - The Commerce Club: 6/29/2012

NBAF International Marketplace: 7/12-7/15

Batik Workshop:5/27

Batik Workshop:  This Workshop will be taught by World Renowned Ugandan artist Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi and will be held on Sunday, May 27, 2012 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm at Gems of Africa Gallery, 630 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30306,  404-876-8200.


You MUST Pre-Register 

About the Workshop
Participants will learn the history and process of Batik making.   All materials and supplies will be included and participants will leave with a finished Batik that they will have created during the class.

Note: This is a 4+ hour class
Cost: $65 : All materials and supplies are included.

• Irons and Hot Wax will be used, so Adults Only.  
• Please wear comfortable clothes that you won't mind getting stained with dyes.
• The Workshop will begin at 5:00pm Sharp, so Please arrive by 4:45pm.

You must pay for the workshop on or before 5/24/2012 in order for your place to be held.   If your payment is not received by 5/24/2012, than you may lose your spot and may not be able to attend the workshop.   

Batik

The technique is thought to be more than a thousand years old, and historical evidence demonstrates that cloth decorated by means of this resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD in Africa, the Middle East, and in several places in Asia. Although there is no sure explanation as to where batik first was "invented", many observers believe that travellers brought it to Asia from the Indian subcontinent. 

Melted wax is applied to cloth before this is being dipped into dye.  Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate.   Sometimes several colors are used, with severl steps of dyeing, drying, and waxing.  Thin wax lines are made with a tjanting (canting, pronounced chahn-ting) needle, a wooden-handled tool with a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps. Other methods of applying the wax to the fabric include pouring the liquid wax, painting the wax on with a brush, and applying the hot wax to a pre-carved wooden or metal wire block and stamping the fabric. One indication of the level of craftsmanship in a piece of batik cloth is whether the pattern is equally visible on both sides of the cloth. This indicates the application of wax on both sides, either with the canting or with mirror-image design blocks.

The finished fabric is hung up to dry. Then it is dipped into a solvent to dissolve the wax, or it is ironed between paper towels or newspapers to absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines that give batik its character. 

The Idan Raichel and Vieux Farka Toure Quartet: 4/21/2012

Africa Belle Art Exhibit: 4/19 - 5/10

Art Exhibit:


Photography and Sculptures of Africa
Photography by Tyjon Tom of imAVio Studios and Sculptures of Africa provided by Simone Zade.


Location: Allliance Francaise Gallery.
Free and open to the public.
Hours: 10:30am to 7:00pm Mon - Thurs and 10:30am to 5:00pm on Fridays.
Artists Reception on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7:30pm

Giwayen Mata presents Dance Africa: 4/15/2012

Soweto Gospel Choir: 3/4/2012

Soweto Gospel Choir, Sun, Mar 4 at The Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree Street, Midtown Atlanta    7pm  Tickets: $35-$65 http://www.ticketmaster.com/ or the Fox Theatre Box Office   http://www.foxtheatre.org/    

The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30 + member ensemble blends elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae, and American popular music. The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela, and has since toured internationally several times.  The 52-strong choir, under the direction of Beverly Bryer, draws on the best talent from the many churches in and around Soweto.  The choir is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world.