BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Jan. 25, 2017 - PRLog -- During an era that harkens back to the Civil Rights Movement and the historic benchmark of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation's 50th Anniversary, The Center for Arts & Culture teams up with the Cultural Museum of African Art to present Brooklyn is Africa: A Borough of Inclusion; A Continent of Invention to exhibit 50 rare African art pieces and artifacts from the collection of co-curator and founder at the Cultural Museum of African Arts Eric Edwards, son of Bedford Stuyvesant, and co-curator Hollis King, acclaimed Creative Director at The Center for Arts & Culture. This exhibition will occur at the Skylight Gallery at the Center for Arts & Culture, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York from February 10th to April 28th.
The Skylight Gallery at The Center for Arts & Culture at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, first exhibiting in 1969, has been a powerful platform for visual artists of the African Diaspora in the heart of Brooklyn where the highest concentration of African Americans resides in the US. The Gallery emerged out of the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements with a mission to present images of people of African descent that exhibit beauty, creativity, rigor and inventiveness. John Henrik Clarke, Pan-Africanist Historian, stated that "slavery ended but left false images of black people intact."
"The story of Eric Edward's collection is, in many ways, the story of Restoration," stated Dr. Indira Etwaroo, Executive Director, The Center for Arts & Culture at Restoration. "This is a man who has devoted his life to cherishing and preserving that which symbolizes the most precious, beautiful and human aspects of who we are as a people and presents that to the world. The African American story did not start in 1619 on American soil, but rather on the continent of Africa, an ancient civilization of great leaders, inventors, and art-makers. What better place to share this collection than here in the African village that is Brooklyn and what better time than the 50th anniversary of Restoration"
The exhibit will present pieces as diverse as a woman's head carved out of stone dating back 4,000 years to the Nok Dynasty (Niger) to a carved wooden royal coffin to Ebo Ceremonial Dance Dress. The exhibit highlights African art as integral to African life. The universal ethos of African art positions art as a fundamental part of culture: from tools to utensils to dress to musical instruments; art is never created for art's sake. The 2,500 piece collection has taken Edwards 45 years to amass and represents all 54 countries in Africa with artifacts dating as far back as the Nubian Empire.
The Center for Arts & Culture is a dynamic campus of world class visual and performing arts. We preserve artistic and cultural legacy, promote social justice and democratic ideals, and present global stories that matter, inspiring the next generation of art-makers and audiences. Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration), the nation's first community development organization, partners with area residents and businesses to improve the quality of life in long-blighted areas of Central Brooklyn. Our goals are to attract investment, improve the business climate, foster the economic self-sufficiency of families, enhance family stability, and promote the arts and culture. Through these activities, we seek to spur resident's economic stability and transform Central Brooklyn into a safe, vibrant place to live, work and visit. Restoration was founded in 1967 with the bipartisan support of New York Senators Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Jacob Javits. Since its inception, Restoration has brought over $600 million in public and private investments to Central Brooklyn.