Author: Camara Dia Holloway

I am the Project Manager for the Romare Bearden Digital Catalogue Raisonné at the Wildenstein Plattner Institute. I earned my PhD at Yale University in the History of Art Department and specialize in twentieth century American art with a particular focus on the history of photography, race and representation, and transatlantic modernist networks. I also serve as a Founding Co-Director of the Association for Critical Race Art History (ACRAH).

Jamaica: Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts to Host Cultural Exchange

LEC: Vinegar Hill Monument Proposals Unveiled @ Jefferson School African American Heritage Center

On Friday, April 20th, the nationally renowned sculptors, Melvin Edwards, Preston Jackson, Lorenzo Pace and Rodney Leon will present their past works to the Charlottesville community as part of the jury process to create a monument about Vinegar Hill, the African American neighborhood destroyed by urban renewal in the early 60′s.  This is the first sculpture commissioned by the community since 1926.  It will be sited on the historic Jefferson School, originally founded in 1865 and currently being renovated as a City Center whose heart is the African American Heritage Center.  The event will take place from 5-6:30 at Burley Middle School on Rose Hill Drive.

Melvin Edwards is one of America’s foremost sculptors whose work can be found in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York the Modern Museum of Art, New York and the L.A. County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Preston Jackson, a professor of sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago is best known for his figurative work, which can be found in the collections of Perdue University, Lakeview Museum, Peoria and the Waterloo Museum of Art, Waterloo. The design team of Lorenzo Pace and Rodney Leon is recognized for their lower Manhattan visitors’ center and slavery monument that marks the 18th century African burial ground.

Jurors for the competition are Carmenita Higginbotham, assistant professor of American art history specializing in depictions of race in American visual productions of the 1920s and 1930s; Sarah Tanguy curator ART in Embassies, US Department of State, as well as an independent curator and critic based in Washington, DC.; and Franklyn Walker, a local artist whose work describes the African American experience and who grew up in Vinegar Hill.

According to Jefferson School Foundation Chair Martin Burks, “the competition is yet another example of the way in which the Jefferson School Foundation and the African American Heritage Center look for meaningful partnerships that significantly impact the City’s cultural landscape.” He continues, “Partnering with the City’s Dialogue on Race allows us to leverage resources to produce a work that is historically significant, locally and nationally, and further establishes Charlottesville as a location where contemporary artistic production is celebrated.”

For additional information contact Elizabeth Breeden, vinegarhillmonument@gmail.com or 434-977-5411

http://dialogonrace.org/call-to-artists/

JOB: Curator for African Art @ Baltimore Museum of Art

Curator for African Art
OVERVIEW
The BMA is seeking a dynamic and innovative Curator and Department Head for African Art to join an 11-member curatorial team in an institution with both an impressive collection of African objects and a strong record of scholarship and major African art exhibitions. Directing the Department for Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands, the curator will oversee the BMA’s extensive collection of over 2,000 African objects including textiles. The curator reports to the Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs. The Department is supported by a Curatorial Assistant, a part-time Associate Curator for the Arts of Asia, plus work study students, and interns. The Museum supports the engagement of consulting scholars to offer Museum staff expertise in overseeing all the collections that make up this department.

The curator’s first assignment represents a major opportunity, the formulation of plans for a new installation of the African collection, part of a current project for reinstallation of several major collections. This project is collaborative including colleagues in education as well as exhibition design and installation. The objective is to develop new approaches for display and interpretation based on the commitment of delivering memorable and inspiring experiences with works of art to a broad and diverse public.

S/he will work with a dedicated group of collectors, including the support group, The Friends of the Arts of Africa, The Pacific, and the Americas. Through exhibitions, public programs, and publications of scholarly significance, this curator will enhance a long tradition of commitment to the appreciation and study of African Art. S/he will build new and more diverse audiences and help connect the BMA to other arts and academic institutions in Baltimore.

REQUIREMENTS
This position requires an advanced degree with a specialty in African Art, a record of scholarship, and a minimum of 5 years of curatorial experience. The Curator will work collaboratively both inside and outside the institution and known for demonstrating leadership. S/he will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including writing and public speaking skills. The candidate will be creative, innovative, and influential. S/he will be skilled in diplomacy, negotiation, planning, and organization.

BENEFITS
The BMA is an equal opportunity employer and a drug free workplace. We offer a competitive salary and a generous benefits package. For this exempt position we offer medical, dental, vision, prescription, pension plan, 403b retirement plan, long term disability, flexible spending account, flexible and condensed scheduling, museum and restaurant discount, and reduced fee gym membership. We also offer 4 weeks of accrued vacation, 9 holidays, 3 personal days, a floating holiday, and 12 sick days.

TO APPLY
Curatorial title and salary will be commensurate with background and level of museum experience. Please send cover letter, resume, record of scholarship, and salary requirements via email to HR@artbma.org with “Curator of African Art-AAAPI Search” in the subject line. No phone calls please.
The application review process will begin on February 13, 2012.

CFP: Exhibition Complex: Displaying People, Identity, and Culture @ Carnegie Museum of Art

Exhibition Complex: Displaying People, Identity, and Culture
October 18 2012 (All day) – October 20 2012 (All day) Carnegie Museum of Art

History of Art and Architecture Department at the University of Pittsburgh is pleased to announce the call for proposals for its Graduate Student Symposium, “Exhibition Complex: Displaying People, Identity, and Culture.” The symposium will be held October 18-20, 2012.

This year’s symposium sets out to analyze the many modes of display, types of artistic production, and built and existing structures that constitute ephemeral exhibition spaces. Organized in collaboration with the Carnegie Museum of Art, our topic is inspired by the museum’s fall 2012 exhibition, Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851–1939. We are interested in projects that explore temporary exhibitions displaying people, identity, and culture in any geographical location or time period, within and beyond the modern history of Western display. The keynote address will be delivered by Saloni Mathur, Associate Professor of Art History at UCLA and author of the book India by Design: Colonial History and Cultural Display (2007), and co-editor of the forthcoming No Touching, Spitting, Praying: Modalities of the Museum in South Asia (2012).

We encourage paper submissions from graduate and MFA students at all stages of their studies.
Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes. Please email an abstract or description of artistic
intervention no longer than 300 words, and a brief CV to symposium organizers at
pittgradsymposium@gmail.com by April 27, 2012. Selected speakers will be notified by May 15, 2012.

http://www.haa.pitt.edu/news-events/exhibition-complex-displaying-people-identity-and-culture?ct=t%28November_3_201110_28_2011%29

CFP: Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia

CALL FOR AUTHORS: Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia

Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia presents state-of-the-art
research, ready-to-use facts, and multimedia pedagogy. The approximately 950
signed entries (with cross-references and further readings) will cover
issues in historical and contemporary ethnic and multicultural studies. The
print 4 volumes and the online edition with 100 videos will include
information relevant to the following academic disciplinary contexts: the
demographic and cultural balance of the United States today and tomorrow;
arts and media; business and economics; criminal justice; education; family
studies; health; media; military; politics; science and technology; sports;
and religion. From A-to-Z, this work covers the spectrum of defining and
illuminating multiculturalism. The goals of this encyclopedia are to help
readers gain a better understanding of:

* the historical development of multicultural America.
* the contemporary American multicultural mosaic.
* the possible future trajectories of American multiculturalism.

In writing, contributors should consider their entries’ contribution to
these three goals. Where appropriate, entries should include data from and
references to the 2010 United States census.

This comprehensive project will be published by SAGE Reference in 2013 and
will be marketed to academic and public libraries as a print and digital
product available to students via the library’s electronic services. The
General Editor, who will be reviewing each submission to the project, is Dr.
Carlos E. Cortés, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California,
Riverside.

We are currently making new assignments with a deadline for submissions of
August 1, 2012.

If you are interested in contributing to this cutting-edge reference, it is
a unique opportunity to contribute to the contemporary literature,
redefining sociological issues in today’s terms. Moreover, it can be a
notable publication addition to your CV/resume and broaden your publishing
credits. SAGE Publications offers an honorarium ranging from SAGE book
credits for smaller articles up to a free set of the printed product for
contributions totaling 10,000 words or more.

The list of available articles is already prepared, and as a next step we
will e-mail you the Article List (Excel file) from which you can select
topics that best fit your expertise and interests. Additionally, Style and
Submission Guidelines will be provided that detail article specifications.

If you would like to contribute to building a truly outstanding reference
with Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, please contact me by
the e-mail information below. Please provide a brief summary of your
academic/publishing credentials in related disciplines.

Thanks very much,

Lisbeth Rogers
Author Manager
multicultural@golsonmedia.com

CONF: Triumph in My Song: 18th & 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance @ UMaryland

“Triumph in My Song: 18th & 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, & Performance” being held at the University of Maryland from May 31-June 2, 2012.  Information about the conference, including the daily schedule, transportation and lodging recommendations, roommate-finding opportunities, and conference registration forms, is available at: http://www.wix.com/hnathans/sea2012conference 

If you have questions about the conference or any trouble with the registration forms, please email us at: seaconference2012@gmail.com.

The conference features a range of national and international scholars and artists.  Our line-up includes a colloquy with 2010 Hubbell Medal winner, Frances Smith Foster, on her recent study, ‘Til Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America.  We will also present several performance events, including the award-winning DC-area company, Theatre J in The Whipping Man.  Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man is the winner of the 2011 John Gassner Playwriting Award by the NY Outer Critics Circle and has been described by the New York Times  as “Emotionally potent…surreal in the layers of meaning…a quiet force.”

This conference is being supported by the Society of Early Americanists, the American Society for Theatre Research, the School of Theatre Dance, and Performance Studies and the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, and the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.