Black Art Spaces: There and Then, Here and Now

Overview

Marking the close of Joe Overstreet: Taking Flight, join us for a two-day program that explores community building in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s–70s and its legacies today. Visiting artists and scholars will contribute to insightful discussions about the history of Kenkeleba House—a New York arts center co-founded by Joe Overstreet in 1974 to support African American artists—and Southern cultural producers will connect this history to Black-led arts organizations currently active in Jackson.

Day 1: Friday, January 23

10:30 AM: Check-in (Museum Foyer)

11 AM: Guided tour of Joe Overstreet: Taking Flight with MMA Associate Curator of Exhibitions Kaegan Sparks (The Donna and James Barksdale Galleries for Changing Exhibitions)

Boxed lunches will be provided for pre-registered attendees.

12 PM: Welcome and introduction by Kaegan Sparks (Grand Hall)

12:30–2 PM: Conversation with artists Odili Donald Odita and Sur Rodney (Sur) on their personal experiences working with Joe Overstreet and Kenkeleba House, moderated by Kaegan Sparks (Grand Hall)

2–2:30 PM: Break

2:30–4:30 PM: Panel discussion on the history of Kenkeleba House with presentations by art historians Josie Roland Hodson, Abbe Schriber, and Alexandra M. Thomas, moderated by Maya Harakawa (Grand Hall)

4:30 PM: Reception (Grand Hall)

Day 2: Saturday, January 24

10 AM: Check-in with coffee and pastries (Museum Foyer)

11 AM–12:30 PM: Panel discussion on arts organizing in Jackson with presentations by cultural producers Gus Daniels-Washington (JXNOLOGY), Alexis Noble (Vibe Studio JXN), and Christina McField (The WoodGrain Studio), moderated by Wendy Shenefelt (Alternate ROOTS)

Registration includes access to the final public close-looking tour of Joe Overstreet: Taking Flight at 2pm. (The Donna and James Barksdale Galleries for Changing Exhibitions)