Black Matters Exhibit Shares Generational Bitter and Sweet of the Black Experience in the U.S.

Mamaragan God of Lightning by Artist Jones was inspired by an Aboriginal painting called “Thunder Man”. He explains Mamaragen God lives in a puddle, rides a cloud, and throws lightning.

by Chip Weiner

Michele Stone, curator for the Carrollwood Cultural Center, spent months in roundtable discussions with stakeholders in the Black art community focusing on developing and curating the Black Matters: Past Present and Future exhibit for the center that opened on Friday. The exhibit features 50 works from 27 artists, all examining both distant and recent history of Black culture and experience. According to the centers website it’s “Art that explores the struggle, tears, laughter, frustration and hope. Art that depicts the unwavering faith, power and character, the endurance and fearlessness experienced generation upon generation”.

Celebrated contributing artist James Vann holds a copy of The Negro Motorist Green-Book, as he explains the manual was frequently used by his father and many other African Americans during segregation to know where they might stay, eat, get gas, get their cars repaired, and even where to get their hair cut as they traveled the U.S., especially in the south.

James Vanns multi-media work Still We Rise is different from his typical jazz inspired colorful paintings. For this exhibit he wanted to depict “The Motherland of Africa, with African cloth [belt] and puka shells [necklace] and the chains we have endured for 500 years.”

Soul Power by Ron- ronsdot- Simmons

Paintings, sculpture, and multi-media pieces enrich the buildings two  stories in the center of Carrollwood Village. It’s a must-see delightful collection of both statement pieces and observational art centered on the Black experience. Most of the work is for sale.

The bronze sculpture- Ebony Woman by Maria Mitchell- took second place in the judging.

Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks - stands with two of the 20 works she shared in the exhibit. This collection, combined with her husband Bernard Brooks’ watercolors, is named The Two of Us.

Dukes Big Band by Bernard Brooks speaks to the contributions of Black musicians to the world of jazz.

Local outspoken, dynamic, and prolific artist and muralist Pain Killer Cam (aka Cam Parker) exhibits this acrylic work, Tamika the Patron Saint of Getting it Done, telling everyone how to do it better.

Walk from the Past by Dacota Maphis took an honorable mention for the exhibit and shows a graffiti marked tunnel from the past, walking in the present, toward the light of the future.

George Floyd stoneware by David Mack tells the story of George Floyd, killed during an arrest in 2020, leading to worldwide protests against racism and sparking a surge in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Poetry was part of the opening night ceremony. Here artist Maria Ortiz recites the poem We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar. No, not for COVID.

The Black Matters exhibit at the Carrollwood Cultural Center covers two floors in two rooms and includes 50 pieces from 27 artists.

Where: Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa, FL 33618 813-263-1310

Admission: Free and open to the public, COVID precautions in place.

When: February 13 – February 28, 2021.  Monday through Friday 9 a.m. -6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – noon