Black Artists of Northern California
Denise Ward
Curator
July 18 to August 24
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 18, 5:30-7:30pm
Black History 2024 is the year of the African Americans and the Arts. This exhibition, Black Artists of Northern California at the Petaluma Arts Center, is a celebration of 28 artists from the South Bay, East Bay, North Bay and Sacramento. Moving this exhibition away from Black History Month celebrates black life in America as an inclusive and everyday experience.
While American Black artists are producing more art than ever, their work accounts for only 2.2% of U.S. Museum acquisitions. For Black women artists, the numbers are even lower -- 0.5% of all museum acquisitions. This motivated Petaluma artist Denise Ward, the exhibition’s curator, to create an exhibition giving voice and vision to Black American artists. Related exhibition events include local area writers and musicians. Say’s Denise, “In 2015, the Petaluma Arts Center presented Black Artists on Art. It was a revelation to me and has inspired this exhibition which represents a curated collection of Black Artists living in Northern California today. As gallerists, muralists and educators, these individuals influence our collective Bay Area art scene.”
Participating Artists: Dr. Orin Carpenter, Michael Granville, Unity Lewis, TheArthur Wright, Patricia Montgomery, Karen Seneferu, Malik Seneferu, Rose Hill, Orlonda Uffre, Shonna McDaniels, Keviette Minor, Jimi Evins, Damon Powell, Donna Gatson, Marlon Beaver, Rena Charles, Netsanet Tesfay, Kim Champion, Jamil Nasim, Ora Clay, Raymond L. Haywood, Hasani Tyus, Mark Heringer, Charles Blackwell, Denise Ward
Related Exhibition Events
Artists Reception
Saturday, July 20, 12 - 4pm
Music by The Dorian Mode
Tickets: free for members; $5 for non-members
The DoRiaN MODE features Bob Johns on piano/trumpet, David Scott on sax/flute/vocals, Tony Blake on drums, and Dorian Bartley on vocals/bass. Dorian Bartley lives in Petaluma with her family and is an educator in the music program in the public schools. She is the leader of the DoRiaN MODE and also plays with Foxes in the Henhouse.
Writers in Conversation
Sunday, August 11, 1 - 2pm
Writers: Eirinie Carson with Natalie Baszile
Pre-Event Online Pricing:
Member: $12.00 (plus $2.33 fees) = $14.33 total
Non-Member: $15.00 (plus 2.53 fees) = $17.53 total
At the Door Ticket Price: $20.00 (cash or credit card)
Eirinie Carson is a Black British writer living in California. She is a mother of two children, Luka and Selah. A member of the Writers Grotto in San Francisco, Eirinie is a frequent contributor to Mother magazine, and her work has also appeared in LitHub, Mortal Mag, Electric Literature, The Sonora Review and others. She was the NEA Distinguished Fellow at the Hambidge Center and is a 2024 alum at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Eirinie contributes to her local paper, The Argus Courier, via a column, Eirinie Asks. She mostly writes about motherhood, grief and relationships and her first book, The Dead Are Gods (Melville House, 2023)was critically acclaimed by Oprah Daily, Nylon Magazine, Shondaland and The Washington Post as well as winning a Zibby Award. It was also named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2023. Eirinie is currently working on her first book of fiction, a maternal gothic story that challenges the notion of the types of mothers we want to be verses the ones we actually are.
Natalie Baszile has a M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers. Queen Sugar was named one of the San Francisco Chronicles’ Best Books of 2014 and nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Natalie has had residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, Virginia Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, and the Djerassi Resident Arts Program where she received the SFFILM and the Bonnie Rattner Fellowships. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Lenny Letter, The Bitter Southerner, The Oprah Magazine, The Rumpus.net and a number of anthologies. For two years, she was Writer in Residence at Saint Mary’s College where she taught a fiction workshop in the MFA Program. Natalie is a member of the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto and lives in the Bay Area.
Closing Reception
Saturday, August 24, 12 - 4pm
Music by Keenan Webster
Tickets: free for members; $5 for non-members
Keenan D. Webster was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His love for music deepened in his youth hearing the blues, spirituals, gospels and folk music of the South. Some of his elders are keepers of the spirituals and slave hymns that had been passed down from generations. Upon arriving in Los Angeles as a teenager, he was fascinated with African, Afro-Cuban, reggae and other music from the African diaspora. He was further inspired to learn about his roots, music, culture and spirituality with the Gullah, Mandika, Mende and Yorube people of West Africa. He started with drums of West Africa and Afro-Cuban roots. Then came Jazz and Blues playing the saxophone and flute and later switched to Native American flute. He has a deep appreciation for world music and has familiarized himself with classical music from India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Webster has been on a mission to use music for world peace, healing, to fight against racism and to bring all people together.
Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12-4pm
