CAAM Here and Now - Winter 2018

here & now California African American Museum Winter 2019

The time is always right to do what is right.

—Martin Luther King Jr., Oberlin College commencement speech, 1965

welcome.

It’s common to contemplate time at the start of a new year. At CAAM the annual calendar begins with a great deal of anticipation as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January and Black History Month in February.

Naturally we’re drawn to King’s inspiring words as we think about our plans and dreams for 2019, and we hope you’ll join us on Monday, January 21, for our annual MLK Day celebration featuring an activism panel, readings of some of King’s most powerful speeches, hands-on art workshops, a children’s march, food trucks, and much more.

This year many Los Angeles museums are featuring the work of prominent African American artists, and we’re delighted to be lending key works from our collection and collaborating in other ways as well. You’ll notice CAAM pieces at The Broad in Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 and at the Craft & Folk Art Museum in The RIDDLE Effect, a survey of the work and teachings of John Riddle. LACMA is presenting a retrospective on Charles White, and our exhibition Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary opens in March as a companion to it.

In addition, we’re also presenting a solo exhibition featuring repurposed quilts, miniature houses, related photographs, and more by Oakland-based artist Adia Millett; a look at the historic newspaper The Liberator; and an exhibition of nudes from our permanent collection.

A new season of exhibitions can only mean one thing: “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop!” returns on Wednesday, March 20, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.!

Time flies so please mark your calendars to celebrate with us.

Photo: HRDWRKER

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4 exhibitions | 10 public programs | 20 for families | 22 visit 3

exhibitions coming this winter Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns February 5 – August 25, 2019 In Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns, Oakland-based artist Adia Millett delves into issues of identity, personal memory, and collective history. She cycles her evocative imagery through a variety of media, including collage, assemblage, photography, textiles, and painting, creating multilayered representations of deconstructed structures and imaginary interiors that stand in for the human experience and provide a dwelling place for a black aesthetic. One of Millett’s central concerns is the history of African Americans, and the history of African American women in particular. Her quilts—made from discarded clothing, sheets, other quilts, and curtains— allude to domesticity and craftwork. Flying Coffee Table (2015), for example, is an elaborate, process-oriented quilt that reveals Millett’s use of improvisation and intuition; the artist disassembled an existing quilt and rearranged it into an irregular, unexpected form.

Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary March 6 – August 25, 2019 A prolific painter, printmaker, muralist, draftsman, and photographer whose career spanned more than half a century, Charles White created artistic portrayals of black subjects, life, and history that were extensive and far-reaching. Plumb Line features contemporary artists whose work in the realm of black individual and collective life resonates with White’s profound and continuing influence.

Using both abstraction and figuration, the artists of Plumb Line—including Sadie Barnette, Diedrick Brackens, Greg Breda, Alfred Conteh, Kenturah Davis, Kohshin Finley, Yashua Klos, and Toyin Ojih Odutola—find conversation with White through the largesse of their canvases, expansive renderings of black skin and black community, and in the treatment of a black past and presence in ways that are both epic and intimate.

Breaking Patterns also features Millett’s miniature houses, including Capital Gain (2011), whose intriguing, mirrored interiors are charged with psychological unrest, offering a deep exploration of memory and loss. She photographs these tiny interiors, transforming the spaces into surreal, self-contained vignettes that resemble dreamscapes. Her collages in turn utilize fragments of her photographic prints, and her mixed-media constructions reuse model-making supplies from the miniature houses.

As Millett repurposes these subjects and materials, she adds layers of meaning to her work’s distorted spaces and skewed perspectives.

Metaphorically, they capture the complexity of the body and, by extension, its potential identities; they also stand as structures for human subjectivity—vessels for multiple psychological states of being.

This exhibition is curated by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.

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The plumb line, an architectural tool used to determine verticality, is a featured element in White’s Birmingham Totem (1964), suggesting black artists as architects of change. White himself can also be considered an artistic plumb line: a builder of black artistic opportunities and a compass directing us toward new aesthetic, liberatory possibilities.

Plumb Line is curated by Essence Harden, independent curator, and Leigh Raiford, Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, for the California African American Museum. The exhibition is presented as a companion to the LACMA exhibitions Charles White: A Retrospective and Life Model: Charles White and his Students.

Adia Millett, Transmogrify, 2018 (detail). Mixed media on wood panel. Courtesy the artist

Greg Breda, Untitled (Salt, woman w/ big hat), 2013 (detail). Acrylic on mylar, 62 x 40 in. Courtesy the artist

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exhibitions coming this winter Aspects of Nude: Selections from the Permanent Collection March 20 – September 8, 2019 Aspects of Nude showcases the ways in which artists have portrayed the human form in its purest state: bare. For centuries the study of nude models, in various poses, has been a fundamental source for artists to master drawing skills and learn to represent the subtleties of the human physique. The works in this exhibition capture the essence of the male and female body through both realistic and abstract compositions using a spectrum of materials. The bronze surfaces of John Wilson’s Standing Woman (1980) and Charles Dickson’s Mae (2000) emphasize the curvatures of women likely of color; while Artis Marie Lane’s Emerging First Man (1997) illustrates the upward gaze of a man whose well-defined musculature surfaces from the earth. Frescoes by Alison Saar, photographs

by Elisabeth Sunday and Tracy Brown, and paintings by Emmanuel Ekong Ekefrey and Elaine Towns, among other objects, reflect varied approaches to nude figures, using the body to convey emotions or tell particular stories. At times controversial, the subject of the nude remains an important one to artists. Their works, in turn, give viewers the permission to explore the distinctive ways in which the human figure can be rendered, celebrated, and transformed.

The majority of works in Aspects of Nude: Selections from the Permanent Collection are from the permanent collection of the California African American Museum, with additions from private collections. The exhibition is curated by Vida L. Brown, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.

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Timothy Washington, Energy, 1970. Mixed media, 96 x 30 in.

Collection of the California African American Museum

The Liberator: Chronicling Black Los Angeles, 1900–1914 March 20 – September 9, 2019 The Liberator was an early 20th-century newspaper that documented the emerging African American population in Los Angeles. Founded in 1900 by Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, a former enslaved African who advocated for improved social and economic conditions for black men and women, the publication reported on local, national, and international news and provided a source of racial upliftment for over a decade. As The Liberator’s editor, Edmonds portrayed Los Angeles as a city of hope for African Americans, particularly compared to the violence and hardship they experienced in the South, and the paper contributed significantly to the city’s rapidly increasing black population. Yet Edmonds also used it as a vehicle to denounce injustices both locally and nationally.

The Liberator: Chronicling Black Los Angeles, 1900–1914 sheds light on the expansion of the city’s African American community, its challenges in a post-Reconstruction era, and its hopes and accomplishments, as captured in the newspaper’s pages. More than a century since The Liberator’s final issue, this exhibition includes rare ephemera, photographs, and artifacts that offer a unique study of the narrative of black Los Angeles.

This exhibition is curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager, Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator, and Arianne Edmonds, Founder of the J.L. Edmonds Project.

A family portrait with, from left, Ruth with violin, Lettie, Oliver, Robert and Gladys Lishey at home in Watts, 1910. Digital image from a photographic print. Courtesy the Shades of L.A. | Los Angeles Public Library

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exhibitions on view Robert Pruitt: Devotion Through February 17, 2019 “Pruitt’s exploration of identity challenges present-day perceptions of race that have been shaped by Western culture. Positing that we can exist in a space free from perceptions that were built on concepts of stratification and subjugation, he illustrates what’s possible when we liberate ourselves from these damaging ideas using tools from the past and faith in the future.”

— Artnet, October 1, 2018

The Notion of Family Through March 3, 2019 In The Notion of Family, artworks from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries chart a trajectory of African American family and togetherness over generations. In a selection of historical sepia-tone photographs, groups of individuals echo a dignified and enduring sense of fellowship, while Miguel Covarrubias’s illustration Negro Mother (1927) and Jacob Lawrence’s The Birth of Toussaint (1986) reflect the timeless bond between mother and child. Traditions and gatherings to create, celebrate, play, and eat—which form an important part of the African American experience—are captured in Faith Ringgold’s The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles (1997) and Kadir Nelson’s Stickballers (2016). Throughout the exhibition the notion of family is expressed in numerous mediums, including photographs by James Van Der Zee, Carrie Mae Weems, and Lyle Ashton Harris; paintings by William E. Pajaud and others; and prints by Romare Bearden and John Biggers. As a whole, these empowering images illustrate that the African American family is a model for thriving, even amid hardship. They suggest a sense of levity while also reflecting agency, love, strength, diversity, and unity from an African American perspective.

The majority of works in The Notion of Family are from the permanent collection of the California African American Museum, with additions from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The exhibition is curated by Vida L. Brown, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager, CAAM.

Through drawing, sculpture, animation, and photography, Houston-born, New York–based artist Robert Pruitt illuminates connections between spiritual traditions, fictional narratives, and technology and investigates how black identity can reside at the intersection of these arenas. In his first major museum exhibition in Los Angeles, Pruitt reconnects with the religious traditions of his upbringing and explores the theme of devotion, specifically religious practices carried out with fervor and dedication. Drawings are presented as a set of sacred images, sculptures act as ceremonial objects, and an audio component—created in collaboration with J∆WW∆∆D Taylor—suffuses the space with an introspective feeling. The exhibition incorporates a selection of works from CAAM’s permanent collection by artists who have influenced Pruitt, including Charles White and John Biggers. These additional objects also reference spirituality, and they speak to Pruitt’s connections to Los Angeles’s African American art community and to various artists from the American South.

Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963 Through March 3, 2019 On May 26, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed nearly 40,000 people at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. Coined the “Los Angeles Freedom Rally,” it was one of the largest civil rights rallies in the country, predating the famous 1963 March on Washington by three months. With powerful photographs, historical documents, and other ephemera, Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963 examines this significant civil rights gathering. It also explores how and why Wrigley Field, LA’s first baseball stadium to the Los Angeles Angels, was a crucial locale for the event.

This exhibition is curated by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.

This exhibition is curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager, and Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator.

California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848–1865 Through April 28, 2019 On the occasion of the 170th anniversary of California’s admission into the Union, CAAM presents California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848–1865, an exhibition that examines California’s underrecognized involvement with slavery in the 19th century. With powerful photographs, historical documents, and other ephemera, California Bound illuminates the state’s struggles over enslavement in an era that encompassed two wars and the establishment of California first as a territory and then a state. The exhibition highlights major historical events and untold stories of those impacted, and it considers how the state’s oscillation on enslavement produced ripple effects in America’s political structures that are still being felt today.

This exhibition is curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates, History Curator and Program Manager, and Taylor Bythewood-Porter, Assistant History Curator.

Installation of Robert Pruitt: Devotion. Photo: Brian Forrest

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10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

King Study Group Listen to a recording of King’s 1968 Los Angeles speech introduced by James Baldwin, then participate in a group discussion about how his words relate to our lives today.

celebrations Monday, January 21, 2018 | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by surrounding yourself with art, culture, and community. Enjoy an array of vibrant programs and activities for all ages. Bring the kids for art-making and food, visit our exhibitions, hear a marathon reading of King’s lesser-known speeches and sermons, and much more—free for everyone!

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Family Drop-in Art Activities Get your Message Heard!

Build and decorate your own megaphone around a cause you care about. Speak up about how you want to change the world!

Posters for Change Make a poster of MLK’s words or a slogan for a cause you are passionate about, then display your poster during our 4:00 p.m. Children’s March around the Rose Garden.

Photo: HRDWRKER

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11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Passing the Torch: Intergenerational Activism in the 21st Century Fifty-five years after King employed youth to assist him with the Birmingham Campaign in 1963 in his effort to achieve desegregation in the South, an important conversation intensifies: how can older generations inspire the next in the struggle for civil rights? This panel discussion includes Shamell Bell, mother, community organizer, and doctoral candidate in Culture and Performance at UCLA; Nason Buchanan, program manager, Office of Reentry, City of Los Angeles; Adam Clayton Rodgers, a fine arts student at Otis College of Art and Design; Navy veteran Justus Anderson; and Paul Von Blum, senior lecturer in African American Studies and Communication Studies at UCLA. Moderated by Marsha Hopkins, adjunct professor at Otis College of Art and Design and chair of CAAM’s History Council.

1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

The Time Is Always Right to Do Right: Keynote by Reverend Eddie Anderson Reverend Eddie Anderson, pastor of McCarty Memorial Church, co-chair of California Poor People’s Campaign, and Black Lives Matter advocate, discusses how to encourage positive social change in our communities.

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Young Activists Present MLK Speeches Youth activists including Genesis Butler, Sophie Cruz, Seijani, and Flora White present excerpts of speeches by King.

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. The Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles presents a musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. for the celebration of the 90th anniversary of his birth.

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Children’s March around the Rose Garden Inspired by the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963, gather your posters and march through Exposition Park for causes that you believe in today.

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public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

celebrations Wednesday, March 20, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Opening Celebration Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns The Liberator: Chronicling Black Los Angeles, 1900–1914 Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary Aspects of Nude: Selections from the Permanent Collection On view: California Bound: Slavery in the New Frontier, 1848–1865 Come one, come all!

Sets by DJFM and DJ R-Tistic

Good art, people & food trucks FREE rsvp@caamuseum.org 12

Photo: HRDWRKER

Sunday, January 6, 2019 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

In Conversation: Robert Pruitt and Shawn Martinbrough For over a decade, artist Robert Pruitt has created works inspired by science fiction, comic books, Hip Hop culture, and images taken from the history of political and social struggle in the United States. In conjunction with Devotion, Pruitt discusses the representation of African Americans through the art of visual storytelling with Shawn Martinbrough, author of How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling and a creator-artist whose works for DC Comics, Marvel, Skybound/ IMAGE and Dark Horse Comics include Batman, Luke Cage Noir, and The Black Panther. Their conversation focuses on the ways in which Pruitt’s imagery explores the complexities of contemporary black identity.

Sunday, January 13, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 17, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 10, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

CAAM Reads!

CAAM’s monthly book club continues this winter with titles selected in conjunction with The Notion of Family, which includes artworks from the 19th to the 21st centuries that chart a generational trajectory of African American family and togetherness. January’s book is Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. February’s selection is The Bond: Three Young Men Learn to Forgive and Reconnect with Their Fathers written by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt. In March, we discuss Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones. Join us for lively afternoons of spirited discourse moderated by CAAM’s research librarian, Denise L. Mc Iver.

Thursday, January 17, 2019 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

In Conversation: Vida L. Brown and Donald E. Grant Jr. Hear Vida L. Brown, visual arts curator, and Donald E. Grant Jr., executive director of the Center for Community and Social Impact at Pacific Oaks College, discuss The Notion of Family and the images it features that illustrate the African American family as a model for thriving and resilience amid the hardships of historical oppression.

Photo: Christin Hume on Unsplash

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public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Photo: Camlacaze, Creative Commons

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Friday, January 18, 2019 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Back-to-Back: Artist-led Tours of Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush at CAAM and ICA LA On the closing weekend of Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush, LA artists Lili Bernard and Chelle Barbour offer their insights in tours at both CAAM and the ICA LA. The program begins at 1:00 p.m. with Bernard at CAAM and is followed by a 3:00 p.m. tour at the ICA LA, culminating in a light reception. Abney’s work refers to diverse subjects such as pop culture, world events, and art history through vibrant and provocative compositions. Artists Bernard and Barbour examine how those themes relate to American society, including Abney’s references to race, sexuality, celebrity culture, and police brutality.

Friday, February 8, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 9, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 10, 2019 | 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Race Relay: A Multimedia Production about Race Relations Presented in conjunction with Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963, which examines Martin Luther King Jr.’s address at one of the largest civil rights rallies in the country’s history, Race Relay is an interactive theatrical production that explores race today. Combining recollections of personal experiences and projected images, writer-director Denise Hamilton, movement specialist Fred Sugerman, master percussionist Christo Pellani, and a cast of actors create a dynamic performance based on stories from the USC community. Race Relay offers a vulnerable, humorous, and real look at one of the defining aspects of our society and our individual lives.

This event is sponsored by the USC Visions & Voices Arts and Humanities Initiative and is a collaboration between the USC School of Dramatic Arts, School of Cinematic Arts, and Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Activating Artists: Know Your Rights Artists have historically used their artworks, actions, and voices to defend their communities and their beliefs. Whether protesting with a group, performing acts of civil disobedience, or using the arts to communicate, it is critical to understand our rights. Presented in conjunction with Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963, this program helps participants understand best practices when confronted by police, potential consequences of civil disobedience actions, and other legal issues surrounding acts of creative public activism. This workshop is led by Nana Gyamfi of Justice Warriors 4 Black Lives and Colleen Flynn of the National Lawyers Guild. It provides a safe space for participants to discuss their experiences and ask questions of experts in the field.

Presented in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation and made possible with support from the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles. Support also comes from the California Arts Council.

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public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Black Composers Songversation Enjoy and learn about the music and contributions of black composers, including the acclaimed 20th-century composer William Grant Still and his contemporaries. The evening includes live music and a conversation between pianist Aaron Diehl and Ami Motevalli, director of the William Grant Still Arts Center.

Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the William Grant Still Arts Center.

KRS-One

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Saturday, February 16, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 pm On Film, Art, and Music with Gary Simmons In the California African American Museum’s vast atrium, Los Angeles–based artist Gary Simmons created Fade to Black, an expansive installation that references early movie titles from black cinema to dwell on notions of memory and forgetting.

Join us as Simmons and special guests expound on these subjects and beyond—including film, architecture, and American popular culture—and discuss the complexities of film, art, and music today.

Thursday, February 21, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

In Conversation: Paul Mpagi Sepuya and Eve Xelestiál Moreno-Luz In conjunction with The Notion of Family, artists Eve Xelestiál Moreno-Luz and Paul Mpagi Sepuya discuss the changing, fluid meaning of family, moving beyond the biological and historical definition to consider the concept and importance of “chosen family,” specifically for LGBTQIA+ communities and marginalized people.

This conversation is moderated by Vida L. Brown, visual arts curator.

Friday, February 22, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Race Relay: A Community Dialogue about Race Relations This follow-up to the Race Relay interactive theatrical production presented February 8–10 (see page 15) offers a community dialogue for open reflection on identities, attitudes, and feelings about race. Join with Race Relay writer Denise Hamilton to reflect on the ideas and questions presented in the historical exhibition Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Leveraging Influence: Black Celebrity and Activism Hip Hop artist KRS-One and history curator Tyree Boyd-Pates examine how black celebrity and activism have been instrumental in leveraging influence.

A recipient of BET’s “I am Hip Hop” Lifetime Achievement Award, KRS-One co-founded the Stop the Violence Movement (1989), which united Hip Hop’s major artistic voices of the time against urban violence and raised more than $600,000 for the National Urban League’s literacy programs. As the loudest voice for Hip Hop as a global culture capable of affecting social advancement, KRS-One is a longtime activist against police brutality, the over-commercialization of rap music, and other platforms that impact urban communities. Presented in conjunction with Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963.

Sunday, March 3, 2019 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden Presented in conjunction with The Notion of Family, which features work by Romare Bearden, enjoy a conversation about this celebrated, dynamic artist with Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman College and former director of The Studio Museum in Harlem, as she discusses and signs her recent book, An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden.

Presented in conjunction with Eso Won Books and the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

Presented in partnership with the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. 17

Sunday, March 24, 2019 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Curatorial Walkthrough: Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns Tour Breaking Patterns with CAAM visual arts curator and program manager Mar Hollingsworth and artist Adia Millett, who will provide insights into issues of identity, personal memory, and collective history.

public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Listening to Art with Yazmin Monet Watkins Inspired by works in Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns, spoken-word poet and actress Yazmin Monet Watkins recites verses that highlight the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, identity, personal memory, and collective history.

Saturday, March 9, 2019 | 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Curatorial Walkthrough: Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary Tour Plumb Line with independent curator Essence Harden and Leigh Raiford, associate professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Plumb Line features contemporary artists whose work in the realm of black individual and collective life resonates with artist Charles White’s profound and continuing influence.

Yazmin Monet Watkins. Photo: HRDWRKER

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Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Free LA: The New Frontier of Abolition?

The California Constitution and Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution both proclaim that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In conjunction with California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848–1865, experience a performance and public dialogue with Bryonn Bain, the creator, writer, and lead performer of the award-winning production Lyrics from Lockdown. A poet, actor, and activist working in prisons since 1989, Bain is associate professor of African American Studies and World Arts & Cultures at UCLA. His hip-hop theater, spoken-word poetry, and film work critique race, class, prisons, policing, power, and the inequitable distribution of justice in America.

Sunday, March 31, 2019 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon Since its founding, CAAM has been committed to featuring women artists in its permanent collection and exhibitions. Join us for an Art + Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon!

Only about 15% of Wikipedia editors are female, an imbalance reflected in the site’s content. This global do-it-yourself campaign aims to combat gender bias and improve the coverage of women, intersectional feminism, and the arts on Wikipedia—the world’s fifthmost-popular website. Bring your laptop computer and learn to create and edit Wikipedia articles at this annual worldwide edit-a-thon to close the gender gap. Beginners are welcome and people of all gender expressions and identities are encouraged to attend.

Presented in conjunction with East of Borneo cofounder Stacey Allan and CAAM’s research librarian Denise L. Mc Iver.

Bryonn Bain. Photo: Larry Lowe

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for families The California African American Museum welcomes children of all ages, and we present a wide range of interactive programs designed especially for families. From arts and crafts workshops to dance classes and storytelling, come explore art, culture, and history together at CAAM! All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change. Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Sunday, January 6, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Self-Portrait Comic Superheroes Inspired by the work of featured artist Robert Pruitt, fashion yourself as a comic superhero. Magnify your strength using comic book techniques including costume design and vibrant colors, then share your characters and their comic book quests. Ages 7 and up.

Sunday, January 13, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The Art of the Silhouette The art of the silhouette is centuries old, yet artists continue to devise novel techniques and exciting ways to incorporate this medium into their work. In A Family Treasure Found (2002) in The Notion of Family, Dominique Moody uses almost life-size silhouettes of her siblings to make her family story come alive. Come construct your own creative vision using silhouette art. Ages 5 and up. Space is limited; RSVP required.

Saturday, February 16, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Star System Jewelry Workshop Magical Afro-futuristic themes in Robert Pruitt’s work celebrate the creative potential of the African American community in science, technology, and culture. Taking inspiration from these grand themes in Robert Pruitt: Devotion, make your own astronomy-based beaded necklace or bracelet and learn more about our place in the universe. Ages 5 and up. Space is limited; RSVP required.

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Sunday, February 17, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

What the world needs is…

Protest posters played an important role in the civil rights rallies and marches depicted in the exhibition Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963. Whether mass produced or put together with house paint and cardboard scraps, these posters are iconic for their use of dynamic symbolism and heartfelt—sometimes humorous—language that delivered the movement’s message. Think about how you would complete the phrase “What the world needs is...” with a symbol or words, then make it into a poster. Ages 7 and up.

Sunday, February 24, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Print It! The print is one of the oldest forms of reproducing art and text. Join us for a workshop that uses a simple and safe print technique to great effect.

Make a foam “master,” then use it to create your print, embellished with lettering and colors. Ages 5 and up. Space is limited; RSVP required.

Saturday, March 16, 2019 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Sculptural Story Space Setting a scene or a specific environment is an important part of storytelling and imaginary play. Come to imagine, build, and decorate your own little space based on Adia Millett’s dollhouse-like sculptures in Breaking Patterns. Age 5 and up. Space is limited; RSVP required.

Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Makers Fest Get busy at this all-ages affair featuring maker stations led by local artists!

Learn from the pros of our community, including Audrey d’Erneville at a customization workshop around textiles and pattern making; Zeal Harris, who offers a storytelling workshop for participants who want to turn their stories into paintings; and James Brooks, who will lead a zine workshop.

Take home several creative treasures of your own. No prior art experience necessary; art materials provided.

Presented in partnership with Able ARTS Work and made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Sunday, March 24, 2019 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Patchwork Art While patchwork quilting is often seen as a craft, artists such as Adia Millett, Faith Ringgold, and others continue to bring the practice into the realm of fine art. View Adia Millett’s work in Breaking Patterns for inspiration, then join the artist and design a paper patchwork on your own or as part of a family project. It can be hung with pride or used as inspiration for an actual patchwork quilt! Ages 5 and up.

Space is limited; RSVP required.

Photo: HRDWRKER

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The mission of the California African American Museum is to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art, and culture of African Americans, with an emphasis on California and the western United States.

visit Robert Pruitt: Devotion

Map

California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848–1865

Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963

The Notion of Family

Gary Simmons: Fade to Black

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Adia Millett: Breaking Patterns

Research Library

  Conference Room

Admission is FREE. Hours Galleries open Tuesdays–Saturdays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sundays 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Location CAAM is located in Exposition Park, which is home to a variety of museums and attractions. Parking is $12 (cash only) at 39th and Figueroa Streets.

The Metro Expo line stop Expo Park/USC is a five-minute walk through the Rose Garden to the Museum.

Stay in touch with CAAM Phone: 213.744.7432 Email: info@caamuseum.org Sign up for our monthly e-news for updates on our exhibitions and public programs: caamuseum.org Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @CAAMinLA The California African American Museum is a state-supported agency and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

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Photo: HRDWRKER

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600 State Drive Exposition Park Los Angeles, CA 90037 caam state board of directors todd hawkins, president zna portlock houston, vice president cornelious burke terri holoman rev. cecil l. murray bari a. williams executive director, george o. davis

Cover: Harry Adams, Martin Luther King Jr. at Freedom Rally, Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, May 26, 1963 (detail). Black-and-white photograph.

Courtesy the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, California State Northridge; Below, photo: HRDWRKER