EXHIBITIONS / ART TALKS
i found god in myself: the 40 anniversary of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls
October 6, 2016 – January 2, 2017
The African Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
This two-gallery art exhibit celebrates the 40th anniversary of the choreopoem, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, and is curated by Souleo Wright.
Through 20 commissioned artworks by artists including Margaret Rose Vendryes, Renee Cox (in collaboration with Rafia Santana), Kimberly Mayhorn, Dianne Smith, and Danny Simmons the exhibition is a tribute to the Broadway play. Each work honors the individual poems and underscores their enduring significance in highlighting issues impacting the lives of women of color.
Additional works by nationally acclaimed artists including Deborah Willis, Carrie Mae Weems and Saya Woolfalk further expand upon related themes of sexuality, race, sisterhood, violence and self-love depicted in and inspired by Ms. Shange’s work. The exhibition will also include archival material that highlights the creation and evolution of the original text from its 1974 California debut to its Broadway run, courtesy of the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at Barnard College.
i found god in myself originally debuted in 2014 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Long Gallery Harlem (formerly The Sol Studio) and La Maison d’Art.
Exhibiting Artists;
Adrian ‘VIAJERO’ Roman, Alexandria Smith, Amber Robles-Gordon, André St. Clair + Tavet Gillson of AndréTavet, Arlene Rush, Beata Drozd, Beau McCall, Carrie Mae Weems, Celestine Wilson-Hughes, Cheryl R. Riley, Chompunutt Mayta, Colette Fu, Danny Simmons, Deborah Willis, Dianne Smith, Dindga McCannon, Fay Ku, Gregory Saint Amand (GOGO), Janet Goldner, Jas Knight, Jeanine Alfieri, Katherine Daniels, Kathleen Granados, Kimberly Mayhorn, Laura R. Gadson, Lauren Kelley, Margaret Roleke, Margaret Rose Vendryes, Melissa Calderón, Michael Paul Britto, Noelle Lorraine Williams w/Stafford Woods, Nona Faustine, Pamela Council, Renee Cox w/Rafia Santana, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Sage Gallon, Saya Woolfalk, Sheila Pree Bright, SOL’SAX, Stan Squirewell, Tamara Natalie Madden, The Colored Girls Museum (Barbara Bullock, Betty Leacraft, Devyn L. Briggs, Marie Mathol-Clark, Monna Morton, Natalie Erin Brown, Ordinary/Extraordinary, Toni Kersey), Uday K. Dhar, Wura-Natasha Ogunji
Click on this Link for the African American Museum in Philadelphia Exhibitions page
Image: “my spirit is too ancient to understand the separation of soul & gender”, Guro Ntozake, 2014. Commissioned exhibition portrait of Ntozake Shange by Margaret Rose Vendryes
Oil and cold wax on canvas, painted Guro mask36 x 78 inches (including 2 inch mask extension)
