Celebrating Art, Beauty and Cultural Legacy
Through Mar 23, 2025
Art, beauty and cultural resilience intertwine in this compelling multi-exhibition showcase. The Marshall L. Davis, Sr. African Heritage Cultural Arts Center presents Celebrating Art, Beauty and Cultural Legacy from December 1 through March 23.
The exhibition features three distinct installations. Margarette Joyner's A Legacy of Elegance displays twelve colonial-era costumes that blend African textiles with 19th-century fashion, offering a reimagined perspective on historical high-society garments. Black Beauty as an Act of Resistance explores the significance of African-descended women's beauty rituals through a recreated 1930s back-porch hair shop, highlighting the contributions of David and Laurel Julius, founders of the Sunlight School of Beauty Culture. Laurel Julius, who worked as a stylist for Madame CJ Walker, later established beauty schools with her husband in Alabama and Jamaica.
The third component, Double Exposure, showcases the work of A.J. Brown, lead singer of Third World Band. His acrylic paintings span various styles including portraiture, abstraction, landscape and still life, drawing inspiration from American, Jamaican, Ethiopian and Caribbean diaspora cultural traditions. Brown's artistic vision combines his musical background with visual expressions of nature and cultural heritage.