THE HISTORY
of
The Kuumba Artists Collective
of
South Florida
By Dinizulu Gene Tinnie
Edited by Hugeaux
Links
The Minority Professional Network
Part #1
Part #2
PART 1
The Kuumba Artists Collective is an informal organization of
South Florida African World artists which continues the traditions
established by the Miami Black Arts Workshop and the former
Kuumba Artists Association of Florida.
Like its predecessors, the Collective pursues four primary goals:
• heightening awareness and appreciation of African World
visual arts through first-class gallery and museum exhibitions;
• “taking art to the people” through community beautification
and outdoor art projects;
• fostering creativity and maturation in the visual arts through
economic development, mutual assistance, instruction and
inspiration; and
• “tapping the abundance of talent in our communities,” by
encouraging younger artists.
South Florida African World artists which continues the traditions
established by the Miami Black Arts Workshop and the former
Kuumba Artists Association of Florida.
Like its predecessors, the Collective pursues four primary goals:
• heightening awareness and appreciation of African World
visual arts through first-class gallery and museum exhibitions;
• “taking art to the people” through community beautification
and outdoor art projects;
• fostering creativity and maturation in the visual arts through
economic development, mutual assistance, instruction and
inspiration; and
• “tapping the abundance of talent in our communities,” by
encouraging younger artists.
KUUMBA ARTISTS COLLECTIVE of SOUTH FLORIDA
Kuumba means “creativity” in the Kiswahili language of east and central Africa.
It is one of the Seven principles celebrated each year at Kwanzaa, and year round:
Kuumba - Creativity
“To do always as much as we can, in the way
we can, in order to leave our community more
beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.”
From the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) - Maulana Karenga
The Kuumba Artists Collective began life in 1980, when Mrs. Emily
Barefield, an official with the Florida Department of State, encountered
a little-known but very highly talented group of African American
artists in Quincy, Florida, and realized that surely there must be other
groups like this elsewhere in the state who deserved wider recognition
and support. Through her research, she made contacts with artists in
Tallahassee, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, and later, through Mrs.
Jolita Mitchell, in Miami and in Broward County. Out of this network
was formed the Kuumba Artists Association of Florida, Inc., which
eventually came to be headquartered in Miami, at the historic Miami
Black Arts Workshop in Coconut Grove.
we can, in order to leave our community more
beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.”
From the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) - Maulana Karenga
The Kuumba Artists Collective began life in 1980, when Mrs. Emily
Barefield, an official with the Florida Department of State, encountered
a little-known but very highly talented group of African American
artists in Quincy, Florida, and realized that surely there must be other
groups like this elsewhere in the state who deserved wider recognition
and support. Through her research, she made contacts with artists in
Tallahassee, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, and later, through Mrs.
Jolita Mitchell, in Miami and in Broward County. Out of this network
was formed the Kuumba Artists Association of Florida, Inc., which
eventually came to be headquartered in Miami, at the historic Miami
Black Arts Workshop in Coconut Grove.
Like the Workshop, the organization’s statewide goals were to heighten
awareness and appreciation of African World Art, to encourage excellence
and maturation of skills (including the mentoring of youth), and
to create economic opportunities for visual artists. To fulfill these
goals, the members often “carried art to the people” through informal
exhibitions, school presentations, streetcorner displays, participation in
festivals and, in Coconut Grove, a façade treatment program to beautify
the community.
Even after the Workshop closed its doors in 1985, Kuumba continued,
organizing and presenting exhibitions at venues in Miami-Dade,
Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and traveling to festivals around
the state, often making new friends and garnering coveted prizes. The
group’s most notable efforts, however, were in Miami, as artists-in-residence
at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC) on Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, where numerous memorable exhibitions
have been presented over the years.
This is the foundation for two very significant annual exhibitions in particular in the Center's Amadlozi ("the presence of the Ancestors") Gallery. One is the very
popular annual tribute to deceased Kuumba member Oscar Thomas, an
exhibition of which he would have been proud: the springtime unveiling
of artists' newest works in the heart of the community he loved, and which loved him in return. It is held from April 4 through May 21, the dates of his birth and death. The second is the Annual Kwanzaa Exhibition, which runs from early December through the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, celebrating the spirit of the Seven Principles and providing affordable works for the gift-giving season as well as showcasing original pieces.
popular annual tribute to deceased Kuumba member Oscar Thomas, an
exhibition of which he would have been proud: the springtime unveiling
of artists' newest works in the heart of the community he loved, and which loved him in return. It is held from April 4 through May 21, the dates of his birth and death. The second is the Annual Kwanzaa Exhibition, which runs from early December through the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, celebrating the spirit of the Seven Principles and providing affordable works for the gift-giving season as well as showcasing original pieces.
PART 2
THE KUUMBA ARTISTS COLLECTIVE
And the Black Arts Movement in Miami, Florida
The Black Arts Movement, as it pertains to formal visual arts, might be
said to have begun around 1969. It was at that time that a group of African
American artists at the University of Miami, including Roland Woods, Jr.,
Walter Dennis, Walter Mitchell and others, launched a dual thrust which
would elevate the role and awareness of works by Black artists in both public
and academic discourse, and in the Black community itself. On the one hand,
they resolved to apply the training they were receiving to themes and topics
that were relevant to the Black experience and which built upon the foundations
laid by earlier Black master artists, even as they retained their fierce
commitment to professional and technical excellence in their own works. On
the other hand, they vigorously pressed their demand that the Lowe Art Museum
on the University campus present, without delay, a major exhibition of
works by Black artists, which the museum had never done. In this they succeeded,
not without a very contentious struggle, but, at the same time, they
recognized that there was a need to bring art into the Black community as a
viable presence. They established a campus-based organization, the Black
Arts Council of Miami, Inc., which located a storefront space in the western
portion of the Coconut Grove area, known as the “Black Grove,” and opened
a gallery and workspace which was named the Miami Black Arts Workshop.
The Workshop made its presence felt almost immediately, and was well
received by the community. It offered after-school programs, which earned
funding from the United Way, it produced movable street murals on large
panels, which were affixed to utility poles, and dealt with such timely themes
as the treatment of Haitian immigrants, the unjust incarceration of Pitts and
Lee, and the vital importance of Black laborers and domestic workers, for
example. The organization also mounted art exhibitions both in the gallery
space and on street corner vacant lots, cleaned up and decorated for that purpose.
One of the most successful gallery exhibitions was an unprecedented
showing of works from Florida prisons, called “Hidden Talent.” Perhaps
most significantly, the Workshop became a meeting place and gathering
place for artists, both local and newly arrived, and it fostered an energetic
process of “cross-pollination” and exchange of ideas and techniques.
Workshop members became an unofficial volunteer “speakers’ bureau,”
visiting numerous schools, particularly during Black History month. One
of its lasting legacies would be the “Graphic Arts Program,” funded by the
City of Miami, whereby the artists undertook a beautification program of
the whole neighborhood, through the renovation of business facades with
African-inspired paint schemes and custom-designed carved wooden signs.
It was around this same time, in 1980, that a parallel movement emerged in
North and Central Florida, as artists from Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Daytona
Beach and Quincy were brought together by a longtime employee of the
Department of State Cultural Affairs Division, and formed the Kuumba Artists
Association of Florida. It was not long before word of this organization
reached South Florida, and members of the Miami Black Arts Workshop became
fully engaged, as this provided an opportunity to extend its mission and
network statewide, and to be included in this statewide initiative. The new
Association provided new outlets for artists’ works, by participating in various
cultural festivals and organizing its own exhibitions. The first Black Artists’
Showcase in Miami, a one-day exhibition held in a downtown office space in
1980, proved to be a resounding success, and included an auction to benefit
the Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc.
When the Workshop was finally forced to close its doors, due to lack of further
funding support, in 1985, the Kuumba Artists Association carried on its
work of promoting Black Art, organizing exhibitions, benefiting local causes,
mentoring younger artists, welcoming and presenting outstanding visitors,
and, in fact, became based in Miami. In South Florida, the group worked
closely with the African Heritage (formerly Model City) Cultural Arts Center
and with Gallery Antigua, Inc., the only local African American-owned and
operated fine art gallery, as well as with the Bacardi Art Gallery, until its
closing, and the Bakehouse Art Gallery. The group also maintained its statewide
focus, constituting a major presence at the annual Harambee Festival in
Tallahassee, as well as festivals in Fort Pierce, Jacksonville and Eatonville.
By the late 1990s, like many arts organizations, most notably the venerable
National Conference of Artists (NCA), of which Kuumba was once a chapter,
the Association experienced a period of decline and eventually a slow
and measured renaissance. Gradually, the old members came together with
energetic younger artists and organized the renamed Kuumba Artists Collective,
as it is known today. The group holds monthly meetings, on second
Sundays, at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center on Dr. Martin Luther
King Boulevard. One of its major activities is organizing the Annual Oscar
Thomas Memorial People’s Art Exhibition (“our own Art Basel,” as it has
been called) at the Amadlozi Gallery on that site. Coinciding with the dates
of Oscar’s birth and death, April 3-May 21, its Opening is the beginning of
the annual remembrance of Dr. King’s assassination (April 4, 1968), and its
closing incorporates the remembrance of Malcolm X’s birthday (May 19).
The Black Arts Movement, as it pertains to formal visual arts, might be
said to have begun around 1969. It was at that time that a group of African
American artists at the University of Miami, including Roland Woods, Jr.,
Walter Dennis, Walter Mitchell and others, launched a dual thrust which
would elevate the role and awareness of works by Black artists in both public
and academic discourse, and in the Black community itself. On the one hand,
they resolved to apply the training they were receiving to themes and topics
that were relevant to the Black experience and which built upon the foundations
laid by earlier Black master artists, even as they retained their fierce
commitment to professional and technical excellence in their own works. On
the other hand, they vigorously pressed their demand that the Lowe Art Museum
on the University campus present, without delay, a major exhibition of
works by Black artists, which the museum had never done. In this they succeeded,
not without a very contentious struggle, but, at the same time, they
recognized that there was a need to bring art into the Black community as a
viable presence. They established a campus-based organization, the Black
Arts Council of Miami, Inc., which located a storefront space in the western
portion of the Coconut Grove area, known as the “Black Grove,” and opened
a gallery and workspace which was named the Miami Black Arts Workshop.
The Workshop made its presence felt almost immediately, and was well
received by the community. It offered after-school programs, which earned
funding from the United Way, it produced movable street murals on large
panels, which were affixed to utility poles, and dealt with such timely themes
as the treatment of Haitian immigrants, the unjust incarceration of Pitts and
Lee, and the vital importance of Black laborers and domestic workers, for
example. The organization also mounted art exhibitions both in the gallery
space and on street corner vacant lots, cleaned up and decorated for that purpose.
One of the most successful gallery exhibitions was an unprecedented
showing of works from Florida prisons, called “Hidden Talent.” Perhaps
most significantly, the Workshop became a meeting place and gathering
place for artists, both local and newly arrived, and it fostered an energetic
process of “cross-pollination” and exchange of ideas and techniques.
Workshop members became an unofficial volunteer “speakers’ bureau,”
visiting numerous schools, particularly during Black History month. One
of its lasting legacies would be the “Graphic Arts Program,” funded by the
City of Miami, whereby the artists undertook a beautification program of
the whole neighborhood, through the renovation of business facades with
African-inspired paint schemes and custom-designed carved wooden signs.
It was around this same time, in 1980, that a parallel movement emerged in
North and Central Florida, as artists from Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Daytona
Beach and Quincy were brought together by a longtime employee of the
Department of State Cultural Affairs Division, and formed the Kuumba Artists
Association of Florida. It was not long before word of this organization
reached South Florida, and members of the Miami Black Arts Workshop became
fully engaged, as this provided an opportunity to extend its mission and
network statewide, and to be included in this statewide initiative. The new
Association provided new outlets for artists’ works, by participating in various
cultural festivals and organizing its own exhibitions. The first Black Artists’
Showcase in Miami, a one-day exhibition held in a downtown office space in
1980, proved to be a resounding success, and included an auction to benefit
the Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc.
When the Workshop was finally forced to close its doors, due to lack of further
funding support, in 1985, the Kuumba Artists Association carried on its
work of promoting Black Art, organizing exhibitions, benefiting local causes,
mentoring younger artists, welcoming and presenting outstanding visitors,
and, in fact, became based in Miami. In South Florida, the group worked
closely with the African Heritage (formerly Model City) Cultural Arts Center
and with Gallery Antigua, Inc., the only local African American-owned and
operated fine art gallery, as well as with the Bacardi Art Gallery, until its
closing, and the Bakehouse Art Gallery. The group also maintained its statewide
focus, constituting a major presence at the annual Harambee Festival in
Tallahassee, as well as festivals in Fort Pierce, Jacksonville and Eatonville.
By the late 1990s, like many arts organizations, most notably the venerable
National Conference of Artists (NCA), of which Kuumba was once a chapter,
the Association experienced a period of decline and eventually a slow
and measured renaissance. Gradually, the old members came together with
energetic younger artists and organized the renamed Kuumba Artists Collective,
as it is known today. The group holds monthly meetings, on second
Sundays, at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center on Dr. Martin Luther
King Boulevard. One of its major activities is organizing the Annual Oscar
Thomas Memorial People’s Art Exhibition (“our own Art Basel,” as it has
been called) at the Amadlozi Gallery on that site. Coinciding with the dates
of Oscar’s birth and death, April 3-May 21, its Opening is the beginning of
the annual remembrance of Dr. King’s assassination (April 4, 1968), and its
closing incorporates the remembrance of Malcolm X’s birthday (May 19).
Copyright Dinizulu Gene Tinnie All rights Reserved. Permission granted.
The Kuumba Artists Collective
2007 Artist Registry.
Liberty City , Florida - Miami.
Gail Coachman-Alexander. Altine, Rickie Bramble, Joshua Bullard, Phillip Curtis, Damani Diop, Edleen Gelin, Jean Herbert, Hugeaux, Charles E. Humes Jr., Lucius King, Sr., Marc-Arthur Jean Louis, Kimberly P. McHenry, William Mathews Sr, Donald McKnight, Robert McKnight, Nzingah Oniwosan, Addonis Parker, Wanda Paulette, Angelo Rauls, Nana Sakyi, Jude Paploko Thegenius, Fred Thomas, Dinizulu Gene Tinnie, Bobby Tucker, Darren Watson and Barbara Wilson.
