Exhibit Heralds in the 2016 Pan African Festival of Georgia
The Tubman Museum has installed a new exhibit entitled, Living in Color: Haitian Art from the Schlesinger Collection, which coincides with the 20th Annual Pan African Festival of Georgia. The exhibit, open now for a sneak peek and officially opening during a reception on May 6, features selected paintings from the collection of Darrie and Larry Schlesinger, who offer this colorful artwork in memory of Eleanor and Jerry Lippman, parents of Darrie Schlesinger.
During their lifetimes, Eleanor and Jerry Lippman were serious students and consumers of art and they loved collecting together. As the dedication on the wall in the Tubman Museum’s BB&T Gallery states, they “celebrated the arts of cultures from around the world” as they traveled. The Lippmans left a beautiful collection and unique legacy for their daughter, who was determined to share this treasure with the Middle Georgia community.
Believing that the artwork needed to be seen by a wider audience, Darrie Schlesinger waited until now so that it could hang in the Tubman Museum’s new building. “This was art that my parents loved and my mother surrounded herself with it after my stepfather died,” stated Schlesinger. “This Haitian art exhibit is something I had planned to work on with my mother and I kept her abreast of completion of the new building, which was exciting for both of us. Sadly, she passed away soon after the new building opened, so she never got to see their collection hang in the museum. I know, however, that she would be thrilled that the community has an opportunity to enjoy their collection of Haitian art.”
Michael Botwinick, former Director of the Brooklyn Museum, stated in his foreword in the book “Haitian Art” that “a growing awareness of Haitian art is an important social and intellectual phenomenon.” According to Botwinick, this is partly due because Haiti weaves together many peoples and traditions – indigenous Indians of the Caribbean, slaves from various parts of Africa, Spanish colonialism, French plantations and American dominance of the twentieth century.
There are numerous Haitian artists represented in this exhibit, but a couple are worthy of noting here because of their prominence in the genre. Levoy Exil, who uses the technique of applying small, distinct dots in a pattern to reveal an image in a painting style that is primitive and dreamlike, has five paintings on display. Also featured is LaFortune Felix, at one-time a farmer, who uses strong color and composition to convey his pictorial perception.
While the Haitian art exhibit hangs inside the Tubman Museum, most of the activities of the Pan African Festival will take place outside the museum on the Cherry Street Plaza on Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24. That includes music, dance, art, crafts, food, live concerts and more. Other special entertainment and educational activities – Family Day Film Festival, face painting, storytelling – will also take place inside the museum.
The Tubman Museum invites everyone to visit this weekend to celebrate the diversity of our neighborhoods and to catch a sneak peek at the “Living in Color” Haitian art exhibit, which runs through June 25, 2016.
For more information about the 20th Annual Pan African Festival of Georgia – which is brought to the community by AARP, American Diabetes Association, James Hyde Porter Charitable Trust and other generous sponsors, go to the official page here: Pan African Festival of Georgia