Special to the Peachite
Painters, illustrators, visual and conceptual artists will gather on Fort Valley State University's campus for an upcoming national conference. The university will host the National Alliance of Artists from HBCU's on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 8 and 9. The group will meet inside the Students Amenities Building on Thursday, Oct. 8 and FVSU's Fine Arts Gallery and Studio Center located in the downtown city of Fort Valley, Ga. on Friday, Oct. 9.
The mission of the NAAHBCU is to bring art and art education to its member institutions. The organization is committed to sustaining artistic programs on college campuses for future generations of students. The group also provides professional opportunities for artists, art historians, curators, collectors and art enthusiasts.
The theme for this year's conference is "Afrofuturism Rising: Black Art across the Spectrum."
According to Ricky N. Calloway, an FVSU professor of art, this is the first time that the conference will be held on the university's campus. He said the conference will help to increase awareness about the campus' Visual and Performing Arts Program. During the conference, NAAHBCU members will also discuss the meaning of Afrofuturism, censorship in art, what it takes to be successful in fine art and graphic design and ways to elevate the importance of the arts within African-American culture.
"I have been associated with the National Alliance of Artists from HBCU's for approximately nine years," Calloway said. "It's the type of art organization I have always wanted to join. We have enlightened the minds of many people about historical and contemporary events pertaining to people of the African diaspora through art exhibitions, lectures, and art appreciation books, visual art books dedicated to musicians, art catalogs, and collaborative murals across America."
An opening reception for professional artists will take place at the Tubman African-American Museum on Oct. 8th from 6-8 p.m. An opening reception for national student exhibitions will take place at FVSU Fine Arts and Studio Center located in the downtown city of Fort Valley, Ga. on Oct. 9th from 2-4 p.m. The group's executive meeting will take place Wednesday, Oct. 7th from 7-8 p.m.at the Marriott Coliseum Hotel in Macon, Ga.
"For many years our conferences were hosted by other universities and museums. I have witnessed the joy that visitors and art patriots received from learning about the emotional horrors and triumphs that we have experienced as a whole, the African diaspora," Calloway said. "We have received positive publicity for many years nationally. Therefore, this 15th annual conference will bring positive publicity for FVSU. It will show that FVSU family is a supporter of the arts. Because of our creative blessed skills, art can enlighten and free the mind of hundreds of years of negative and false information. There's no civilization, nor future, without visual arts."
Tickets to the two-day conference are free to the public. Membership dues and registration will take place Thursday morning, Oct. 8 from 8-9 a.m.
For details, contact Calloway at (478) 825-6918, or e-mailcallowar@fvsu.edu.
