To inhabit Black skin in the United States is to live with the understanding of the inescapable precarity of Black life. A culture of violent oppression has rendered the most mundane of daily activities (grocery shopping, jogging, driving, sleeping) a death sentence for Black people. Still, from the moment Africans were brought to this continent, they have been generators of an exuberant creative output reflecting a brand of possibility born of relentless resistance and resilience. Navigating the polarity of imminent danger and endless possibility is at once the singular triumph and crushing burden of Black people in the Americas.
The artists featured in precarity | possibility embody what Dr. Tina Campt* refers to as “The creativity, ingenuity, cunning and courage that allow [Black people] to acknowledge the forces that would define us, and yet not succumb to the definition.”
*A Black Gaze: Artists Changing How We See, 2021. MIT Press
Confirmed artists (additional artists TBD)
C. J. Murphy
Lennie Vernet
Kimberly Cartwright
Jade Wilson
Zaire McPhearson
Samantha Everette
precarity | possibility is conceived by Gail Belvett, principal of The Art Chose Me. precarity | possibility is a zero commission exhibition that will originate from the Hayti Heritage Center with site-specific iterations available to venues across the Triangle.
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The historic St. Joseph’s AMEChurch (now the Hayti HeritageCenter) is one of the cornerstonesof the Historic Hayti District.
As we celebrate the 130th anniversary of the historic St. Joseph’s AME Church, featured local artists seek to celebrate Hayti’s venerable past, reckon with the present and imagine our future.
Each month will feature new artist(s). Most artists are creating work specifically for the exhibition.
February: Candy Carver
March : Gemynii
April: Sloane Siobahn
May: Rox Campbell
June: Student Visual Artist
August:
Art works will be displayed in the Lyda Moore Merrick Gallery at the Hayti Heritage Center.
There will be an artist talk and reception each month in support of the exhibition.
Every 3rd Friday with BeConnected & Visual Art curated by Gail Belvett
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Quilting has a rich tradition within the Black American Experience, telling stories and history through the artform. As with everything, Black Americans developed their own distinctive style of quilting; and the tradition continues with Hayti’s African American Quilting Circle. This virtual series of Quilting workshop’s continue this tradition with teacher, Kimberley Cartwright. Welcome to Quilting 101.
Kimberley Pierce Cartwright is a quilter and folk art painter living in Durham, NC. She is the first artist in a series to partner with Hayti Heritage Community Center to bring artists and how they produce their work to our community. In this segment Kimberley will show us how she makes her signature fabric post cards. She’ll show us how to make a simple pattern, cut out pattern pieces and sew. After you make yours you can mail it or use it for wall art. The process is easy and quick. See her work on the web at kimberleypiercecartwright.com. If you want to know more about making fabric post cards she has a new book on Amazon entitled Fabric Post Card Cat/Dog.
The Hayti Collective of Visual Artists exhibit their perspectives on Black HIstory. Featuring Edward L Baxter, Willie Bigelow , Dare Coulter, Wendy Dickerson, Barton Hatcher, Clarence Heyward, Jermaine Powell, Terri Pullen, Maximillian Mozingo, Legrant Taylor, Beatrice Truesdale, and Wade H. Williams.
Black History: Artists’ Perspectives
Feb. 7th – March 27th
Gallery Open | Mon – Sat | 10am -6pm
Hayti Heritage Center
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Hayti Black Filmmakers Collective in association with the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation presents
Film Fundamentals of BLRS (Blocking, Lighting, Rehearsing, Shooting):
DECEMBER 20th @ 6:30pm!
As a newcomer or even a seasoned professional, running a set for a fictional film can be daunting. Ensuring that both cast and crew know where they need to be and what they need to do to get the right shot in the can requires discipline. In this workshop, Director of Photography Bruce Francis Cole will show the fundamentals of BLRS (Blocking, Lighting, Rehearsing, Shooting).
Underwritten by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, this seminar is open to the public with a non-refundable $10 reservation fee.
Join us afterwards for the Hayti Black Filmmakers Holiday party!
Four years ago Durham resident and artist Willie Bigelow presented to us an idea for an exhibition celebrating African American history, featuring the artwork of several local artists. Four years later the exhibition continues. Again this year, we include artists who are exhibiting in our space for the first time. These 20 talented artists pay homage not only to our culture and history, but this year they join Hayti in celebrating Durham’s sesquicentennial – the 150th anniversary of the City’s founding.
The Black History: Artists’ Perspectives exhibition opens on February 1st and continues through April, 2019. Many of the pieces are for sale, and we hope you will support our exhibiting artists – and the arts – by purchasing their works and by encouraging others to do the same.
This year’s artists are: Willa Brigham, Willie Bigelow (also our curator), Wade Williams, Ed Baxter, Barton Hatcher, Maximillian Mozingo, Vanya Elliott, Sharon Barksdale-Worth, Malcolm Goff, Marjorie Barner, Crystal Carter, Lillian Thompson, Olivia Gatewood, Benjamin Morrow, Beatrice Truesdale, Roderick Moore, Alpheaus Walker, Mollie Renfrow, LeGrant Taylor and Juan Scivally.
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The members of the African American Quilt Circle have regularly shared their magnificent, memorable quilted art work with the Durham community for 20 years at Hayti Heritage Center shows that feature their vibrant, soulful visual images in cloth. This year a new dimension has been added to their quilted art: SOUND!created by musicians and spoken word artists. Their poetry and jazz, to be presented at the show’s opening on September 21st, was the inspiration and challenge for AAQC’s fiber artists to hear, interpret and then create unique, vibrant visual pieces reflecting what they ‘heard.’ These works of art will be enriched with a wide variety of unique quilted art pieces throughout the gallery.
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The annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives exhibition opens on Friday, February 2, 2018 with a reception from 6 until 8 pm. Music and refreshments will be provided. The exhibition will run through March 11, 2018.
Special guest Ms. Sandra Hughes, a trailblazer in radio and television, will join our artists, whose artwork will be available for purchase. These talented painters, quilters and sculptors have featured art work across the country and internationally. Private collectors from Oprah Winfrey to Nnenna Freelon along with prominent galleries and museums feature work from some of our participants.
The mission of Hayti is preserving and advancing the heritage and culture of historic Hayti and the African American experience through programs that benefit the broader community. Your continued support of Hayti and of our artists helps fulfill that mission!
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Film starts at 7:00 pm, Doors open at 6:30 pm
Free, ticket required
Filmed over the course of ten years, QUEST is a thoughtful and nuanced observation of the Rainey family—led by father Christopher (“Quest”) and mother Christine (“Ma”). From the start, first-time filmmaker Jonathan Olshefski captures tender images of this family’s love: Ma braids her husband’s and daughter PJ’s hair, joking and laughing; Quest brings PJ to school on the front of his bike each day; and both work tirelessly to ensure financial and emotional support for each other. Planted in the middle of a North Philadelphia block, the Rainey house is a sublimely run neighborhood hub. Quest’s creation of a weekly drop-in basement radio show draws a constant flux of characters while illustrating the strong sense of community within this neighborhood. As Quest and Ma raise their children, Olshefski weaves pivotal life experiences with grander issues of poverty, politics, and gun violence. QUEST is an ode to the unwavering love and resilience of a specific family, and a universal reminder that family can give us the strength to keep on going.
This event is free, but you must reserve a ticket via Eventbrite. The Eventbrite page will open to the public at 9:00 am on September 21.
PRESALE First Team members: September 18 at 9:00 am to September 21 at 8:00 am PRESALE Hayti Heritage Center members: September 19 at 9:00 am to September 21 at 8:00 am PRESALE Spotlight members: September 20 at 9:00 am to September 21 at 8:00 am General Public tickets: September 21 at 9:00 am
This event is part of the Road Show Fall Series presented by Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. and the American Tobacco Campus.
