SUNO continues collaboration with M.L. King commemorative art exhibition

Southern University, New Orleans' (SUNO) Museum Studies Program and Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) will present the New Orleans Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Art Exhibit from January 21 through March 29 at the New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History (NOAAM) at 1418 Governor Nicholls Street.

Artwork will be on display Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A gala and public reception with the artists will be Monday, January 21st from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The opening reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibit is a collaboration of the New Orleans Chapter of the National Conference of Artists (NONCA). NONCA has helped to sponsor the New Orleans Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Art Exhibit at NOAAM since 1996.

The exhibit showcases works from local and national artists as well as professional and emerging artists. The works of college artists are also included in the showcase.

Charlie Johnson, a professor in the College of Education faculty event coordinator, said the partnership "affords these organizers an opportunity to advance a shared goal as well as promote the cultural achievements, dreams and the legacy of both King and the Civil Rights Movement."

"Assembling an esteemed panel of art scholars to jury the MLK exhibition represents a concerted effort by the New Orleans Chapter of the National Conference of Artists to continually raise the bar in presenting quality art works."

The mission of the National Conference of Artists is to preserve and promote the creative expressions of artists of African descent. The art collection, which includes oil paintings, mixed-media creations, sculpture, and drawings, is the only exhibition of its kind in New Orleans curated by a group of museum professionals, artists, and university students.

The theme of this year's exhibition is based on King's 1967 speech "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?" It was delivered to the 11th convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Romanus Ejiaga, Director of CAAAS, describes the theme as a "wakeup call for citizens to come together as a community to address some of the concerns and needs of our communities at large."