On June 26th I had the pleasure of attending the opening night reception of the Harlem Fine Arts Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The HFAS, in partnership with the National Black Arts Festival, celebrated its 5th anniversary in Atlanta from June 26th through June 29th. The Harlem Fine Arts Show is one the largest collections of art work from both world renowned and emerging African-American artists. The opening night was a fundraiser for the National Black Arts Festival and was truly and elegant evening that celebrated both the touring artists and the local Atlanta art scene.
The event was held in the beautiful ballrooms of 200 Peachtree St. The master of ceremonies was local NBC news reporter Demarco Morgan.
Several sponsors were acknowledged and awards were handed out to local Atlanta organizations. The 2014 Arts and Healthcare Award went to the Mason Murer Fine Art Gallery for its Project Share-Art Therapy program. In conjunction with the Shepard Center it offers free art classes to help with spinal cord recovery. In addition, the 2014 Arts and Community Award went to “Art on the Beltline”. The crowd was entertained with amazing aerialists, live bands and carnival dancers.
I had the pleasure of meeting Charmaine Ward who was the co-chair of the opening night reception and Vice Chair of the National Black Arts Festival. Besides the opening night event and exhibits all weekend, the HFAS also hosted a Youth Empowerment Day on Friday, the Winston and Carolyn Lowe Lecture Series on Saturday and the Fine Arts Exhibit Sale on Sunday.
There were so many talented artists in attendance but a few that truly stuck out to me included:
Charly Palmer “Whitewash”:
Grace Kisa:
Frank Morrison:
Jonathan Romain:
Nnamdi Okonkwo:
The Harlem Fine Arts Show is on tour and the next stop will be in Martha’s Vineyard August 7-13, 2014 then Chicago in October (dates TBD). I am excited since I will be on Martha’s Vineyard during that time and plan to take in the exhibit again!
If you missed the Harlem Fine Arts Show in June you still have a chance to attend many artistic and cultural events in Atlanta through September courtesy of the National Black Arts Festival. These events include the National Black Arts Festival Gala on Saturday July 19th, Wynton Marsalis at the Woodruff Arts Center on Friday July 25th, Third World and Maxi Priest on Sunday August 17th, The Legends Celebration on Saturday September 28th and First Glance Teen Arts Award Show on Saturday September 27th. For a full list of events and to purchase tickets please visit their website. If you attend any of these events please come back and share your thoughts with us!
N.S.W.
This looks like a great show!
xo
styleontheside.com
Yes Caroline! Such beautiful works of art!
Wow amazing, wish it was publizied better …. To many people here in the Atl missed this, including myself. 🙁
Hi Tmar! I’m sorry you missed it! I post about events like this on all my social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter so be sure to follow me so you will stay informed of great cultural and social events in Atlanta!
LOVE the pieces from Okonkwo and Kisa! Hate I missed this. I’ll look them up.