Spelman College News CURATORS TO DISCUSS 'THE GLOBAL AFRICA PROJECT' AT SPELMAN COLLEGE ATLANTA (April 13, 2011) Lowery Stokes Sims, Ph.D., and Leslie King-Hammond, Ph.D., co-curators of the exhibition "The Global Africa Project," on view at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, will participate in "Exploring Global Africa"<http://www.spelman.edu/museum> on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. "Exploring Global Africa" is a conversation about how "The Global Africa Project" challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity. The exhibition features work by more than 100 artists working in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States and the Caribbean. Sims and King-Hammond will discuss these works and examine the rich pool of new talent emerging from the African continent and its influence on artists around the world. "The Global Africa Project" is the first exhibition to explore the impact of African visual culture on contemporary art, craft, and design around the world. The groundbreaking exhibition includes ceramics, basketry, textiles, jewelry, furniture, and fashion as well as selective examples of architecture, photography, painting and sculpture. Sims and King-Hammond and their respective institutions collaborated on the exhibition. Sims is the Charles Bronfman International Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design. King-Hammond is the founding director of the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art. A book signing for "The Global Africa Project" follows the discussion. The program is free and open to the public. "Exploring Global Africa" is organized by the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the Center for Leadership Civic Engagement at Spelman College, and the Spelman College Department of Art in collaboration with the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the English department, the African Diaspora and the World Program, the Office of Alumnae Affairs, the Women's Research and Resource Center and the Office of Institutional Advancement. It is made possible by support from an anonymous donor to the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. "The Global Africa Project" is made possible by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation as part of its International Cultural Engagement Initiative, with additional support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation, HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and a group of private donors. Major support for the exhibition catalogue has been provided by Basil Alkazzi, who gave additional funds in memory of Judi Hoffman. About the Speakers Leslie King-Hammond, Ph.D., is the graduate dean emeritus and founding director of the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Throughout her illustrious career she has served many arts organizations including her term as executive board member of International Association of Art Critics (2000-2003); president, College Art Association (1996-2000); member of the Board of Overseers, Baltimore School for the Arts (1996-1999); vice-president, Jacob Lawrence Catalog Riasonne Project; trustee, Baltimore Museum of Art (1981-1987); and board member of Edna Manley School for the Visual Arts, Kingston, Jamaica (1988-present). Lowery Stokes Sims, Ph.D., is the Charles Bronfman International Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary art with expertise in the work of African, Latino, and Native and Asian-American artists. Before beginning her tenure at the MAD, she was the executive director and president, from 2000 through 2006, at The Studio Museum in Harlem, and subsequently served as an adjunct curator for the Permanent Collection. About the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art is the only museum in the nation that focuses on art by and about women of the African Diaspora. Since it was established in 1996, the Museum has organized several contemporary art exhibitions such as "iona rozeal brown: a³. . .black on both sides" (2004), "María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Dreaming of an Island" (2007), "Cinema Remixed & Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970" (2007), "Undercover: Performing and Transforming Black Female Identities" (2009), and "IngridMwangiRobertHutter: Constant Triumph" (2011). The Museum has garnered critical and popular attention and continues to build upon its impressive track record of organizing first-rate, mission-specific exhibitions that expand the contemporary art offerings in Atlanta and the region exponentially. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu/museum<http://www.spelman.edu/museum>. ### Spelman College: Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a prestigious, highly selective, liberal arts college that prepares women to change the world. Located in Atlanta, Ga., this historically black college boasts an 83 percent graduation rate, and outstanding alumnae such as Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman; former U.S. Foreign Service Director General Ruth Davis, authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson. More than 83 percent of the full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees, and the average faculty to student ratio is 12:1. More than 2,100 students attend Spelman. For more information, visit: www.spelman.edu<http://www.spelman.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.