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.

Contemporary Artists of Africa Here and Abroad

Contemporary Artists of Africa Here and Abroad:  An exhibition celebrating the beauty and power of Contemporary African Art in Atlanta's African community.   This exhibition will be accompanied by West African art from Hammonds House Museum's permanent collection with major representation from the countries of Senegal and Nigeria.   November 20, 2011- January 29, 2012.   learn more...

Atlanta has been a destination of African immigrants for many years and a hotbed of African cultural celebration through spiritual practices, visual arts, music, and dance. The profound connection and influence that the African communities of Atlanta have had in shaping the city's unique identity cannot be overlooked. Through its universities and grassroots organizations, Atlanta has been blessed to be home to the traditional aesthetic practices of Africa as well as its contemporary innovations and impulses. Hammonds House Museum is honored to bring to the public a small selection of the myriad of African-born artists who now call Atlanta home or who have local connections. The exhibition features artists from several countries on the continent and continues the Museum's legacy of educating the metro-Atlanta community about the important contributions made by artist of Africa and the African Diaspora. The exhibition also will include contemporary works by African artists in Hammonds House Museum's permanent collection, including artwork donated by the late Louise Willingham of Atlanta, GA, and the late Janet Carter of New York City.

Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples St SW, Atlanta, GA,.   Members: Free / General Adults: $4, Children, Students and Seniors: $2 / WE Cultural Connection Tour Adults: $10, Children, Students and Seniors: $6

Kinyarwanda - Sundance Film Festival: 12/2

The Story of Kinyarwanda:  During the Rwandan genocide, when neighbors killed neighbors and friends betrayed friends, some crossed lines of hatred to protect each other.

At the time of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda, the most respected Muslim leader in the country, issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other. KINYARWANDA is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. It recounts how the Imams opened the doors of the mosques to give refuge to the Tutsi and those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing.  See The Trailer

KINYARWANDA interweaves six different tales that together form one grand narrative that provides the most complex and real depiction yet presented of human resilience and life during the genocide. With an amalgamation of characters, we pay homage to many, using the voices of a few.    Buy tickets

NBAF Summer Festival: 7/7 - 7/17

Expect the unexpected at the 2011 National Black Arts Festival, July 7th through July 17th. Get ready for Unexpected Encounters with the culture, people and art of the African Diaspora, as this year’s festival goes beyond expectations with extraordinary experiences for all who encounter it. Beginning July 7 with the opening of Trenton Doyle Hancock’s exhibition at the SCAD Gallery at the Woodruff Arts Center there is literally something for everyone at the 2011 National Black Arts Festival!

In addition to visual arts exhibitions, workshops, symposiums, the Coretta Scott King Awards Book Fair, and The Summer Institute, festival patrons will enjoy the highly-anticipated Legends Celebration featuring The O’Jays in concert. This year the celebration adds a new tribute to cultural icons we have lost during the last year to what has become one of the summer’s hottest tickets.

Other highlights you won’t want to miss include our annual gala fundraiser a Salute to the Silver Screen; the first ever DanceAfrica Atlanta!, curated by the critically acclaimed choreographer and griot Chuck Davis; and premiere film screenings. We are especially proud to present our first visual arts tribute Interpretations: Black Visual Art- Past, Present Future, which honors visual arts masters while this year also paying homage to Romare Bearden on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The festival returns to Centennial Olympic Park for the third year, July 15th-17th with the International Marketplace of over 100 vendors, the Children’s Education Village, and Music Main Stage featuring, Cuban jazz artist Omar Sosa, Jazz vocalists Gregory Porter and Kathleen Bertrand, Latin Dance Party with Rio Negro, Joyce Candido, Nanny Assis and Orquesta Macuba and a fusion of soul, funk and jazz with The Chronicle. All activities at the park are free and open to the public, so come enjoy the food and entertainment while you shop ‘til you drop at the International Marketplace.

NBAF (presenter of the National Black Arts Festival) is celebrating 23 years of year-round arts and cultural programming. The fact is that NBAF presents programs and events 365 days each year of which the summer festival is just one part. NBAF is a membership organization that hosts nearly 300,000 patrons each year including 25,000 children through year-round performances, exhibitions, and Education and Public Programs. I hope you will consider becoming a member, which will help the organization to continue to serve the community through critically-acclaimed programs.