African American Art History Workshops

Taking Our Place Centerstage (TOPC): The African Diaspora in Harmony

The Ordway's mission includes working outside of Ordway's walls. Our artistic and education programs create opportunities for artists to interact with community organization that support young people and more. 

Join our partners in the community while extending your knowledge and learning more about the African Diaspora through African American Art History Workshops. Details below!

 

 

John Biggers Seed Project

African American
Art History Workshops

January through March 2014

All events are free and open to the public at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement  Center (UROC)

 

2001 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411

 

February 1

Presenter: Suzanne Roberts

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Artists of the 18th and 19th Century

Explores the very beginnings of African American art in America., Including art during slavery, the first professional artists during the antebellum period and the post emancipation period into the 20th century.

10:30 a.m.-12 noon Art of the Harlem Renaissance and WPA Period (1920's-1930's)

Examines the lives and the work of the "New Negro" artists both in Harlem and across the rest of the country and the impact of the Works Progress Administration on the development of African American artists.

February 8

Presenter: Suzanne Roberts

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Photography

Examines the impact of the medium on African American Art and culture.  Follows Jules Lion as he attends the beginning of the world introduction to photography with the demonstration of Daguerreotypes in Paris in the summer of 1839 and his exhibition in the fall of that year; J.P. nationally famous studio in Cincinnati; to the Harlem Renaissance with James Vander Zee and others; and contemporary photographers such as Dawoud Bey, Lorna Simpson and Carrie Mae Weems.

10:30 a.m.-12 noon Quilting and the Quilters

Traces the evolution of quilting from art created for utilitarian purposes to the fine art of today and examines works from Harriet Powers to Gees Bend to Faith Ringgold and the impact of other artists like John Biggers.

February 22

Presenter: Suzanne Roberts

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Black Artists at Mid-Century (1940's-1960's)

Follows the explosion of the numbers of artists working as professionals, the variety of artistic styles of expression and the struggle for recognition and opportunities to have their work viewed publically.

10:30 a.m.-12 noon The Black Art Movement (BAM 1960's-1970's)

Examines art created as the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power Movement, the only art movement created by and for Black people.  Visual artists believed that a "change in vision" in the perception of African American identity could bring about pride and self- determination.  They also called for a reordering of the western cultural aesthetic.  Work of these artists served as precursors to post-modernism.

March 1

Presenter: Suzanne Roberts

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Contemporary Art (1980's-Present)

Explores post-modernism and the new cultural relativity and inquiries of art and society through art. Interrogation of black identity, issues of gender and language became a central part of art. This was first time the work of many African Americans was considered by mainstream art historians.

10:30 a.m.-12 noon History of Black Artists in Minnesota (1860's-1970's)

Traces the lives of artists, the art and the legacy of work produced by artists that spent time in or lived in Minnesota.

 

The John Biggers Seed Project (Seed) is a public art and collaborative design effort that engages renowned African American artists in mentoring young emerging artists in placemaking by educating them about African American art and community history, providing career development and transferable skills, and creating a sense of place that speaks to the culture of North Minneapolis.

Seed is inspired by the Celebration of Life mural, an acclaimed public artwork led by John Biggers, a major African American artist of the twentieth century, which began the careers of young artists and organizations (including Obsidian Arts and Juxtaposition Arts), planting artistic “seeds” on the North Side.

  

Suzanne Roberts is an art historian, lecturer and independent scholar specializing in the art and lives of African Americans artists.  She has curated and co-curated exhibitions such as Protest! at Intermedia Arts, Afro-Futurism for Obsidian Arts at the Soap Factory and Exploding Language in North Minneapolis. She has taught classes and lectured for various arts organizations including the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She currently is the art historian for Obsidian Arts.