!*Los Angeles: Musical Arts of Africa
natt...@ix.netcom.com
August 2, 1999
Contact: Christine Petra Sellin (cse...@fmch.ucla.edu), (310) 825-4288
THE UCLA FOWLER MUSEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY, CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN
MUSEUM AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART CELEBRATE THE MUSICAL ARTS OF
AFRICA
Beginning this fall and continuing through the spring, Los Angeles will
resound with the sounds and sights of a citywide celebration honoring one
of Africa's most vital legacies: the art of African music. The project,
"The Heritage of African Music," focuses on three major, sound-driven
exhibitions simultaneously on view at the California African American
Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the UCLA Fowler Museum of
Cultural History.
Unprecedented in scope and breadth, the interinstitutional collaboration
surveys some 32 musical traditions across Africa, honoring the monumental
contributions that African and African-American music and musicians have
made to the world musical landscape. Accompanied by a spectacular series
of musical offerings for the public, extensive educational opportunities
for area schools and a scholarly publication, "The Heritage of African
Music" offers American ears and eyes unique and vibrant art forms that
continue to reinvent themselves and redefine music worldwide.
The exhibitions focus on the role of African music as inspiration and
antecedent of other musical forms, and consider the artistry it embodies -
whether in the form of an intricately embellished Mangbetu harp or a
striking Asante royal drum procession. Multi-disciplinary in nature, the
collaboration ensures that African and African-American music can be
considered in the most comprehensive terms ever: within the context of
music, the visual arts and history.
At each museum and other select venues, a rich series of public programs,
concerts, festivals, children's events and symposia are designed to
delight, inspire and inform music lovers of all kinds and ages. The public
programs, made up of mostly free offerings, will be announced at a later
date. Also integral to the project, a major educational program for K-12
students is planned, supported by a substantive curricular unit and a
series of teachers' workshops. The project stands to redefine both the
ways that art and music may be taught and understood together, as well as
the ways institutions can collaboratively develop educational missions.
The celebration begins in October, with the opening of the exhibitions
"Rhythms of the Soul: African Instruments in the Diaspora" at the
California African American Museum (on view Oct. 16 through June 11,
2000); "Music for the Eyes: The Fine Art of African Musical Instruments"
at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (on view Oct. 24 through May 14,
2000); and "Music in the Life of Africa" at the UCLA Fowler Museum (on
view Nov. 7 through July 16, 2000).
The California African American Museum's "Rhythms of the Soul: African
Instruments in the Diaspora" traces the lineage of a distinct
African-based musical heritage in North America and other parts of the
Diaspora as created by people of African descent from the 17th century to
the present. African music's prolific tradition has given birth to
American gospel, blues, jazz, rock and roll, and rap. Interactive
exhibition highlights include video footage of carnivals in Rio, Bahia and
New Orleans, as well as Vodou ceremonies and musical performances from
around the world. "Rhythms of the Soul" was organized by the California
African American Museum and curated by history curators Rick Moss and
Redell Hearn. For more information, the public should call (213) 744-7432
or visit the Web site at <http://www.caam.ca.gov/>http://www.caam.ca.gov;
for media inquiries, please call (213) 44-7537.
At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the works on view in the
exhibition "Music for the Eyes: The Fine Art of African Musical
Instruments," are organized by type, emphasizing the individual
instrument, its development history and its aesthetic and sound-producing
qualities. This exhibition includes some of the finest examples of African
musical instruments, presented as creations of aesthetic elaboration. On
view in the museum's newly constructed educational space, The Boone
Children's Gallery, the exhibition is especially geared toward young
people and their families, emphasizing active visitor participation. For
more information, the public should call (323) 857-6000, (or TDD (323)
857-0098), or visit the Web site at <http://www.lacma.org/>
http://www.lacma.org. For media inquiries, please call (323) 57-6522.
The UCLA Fowler Museum's exhibition "Music in the Life of Africa"
highlights ten remarkable African musical ensembles, contemplating more
than 150 musical instruments and related objects in terms of performance
art, pageantry and culture Embellished with the extensive use of sound,
video, the photographs of musicians, customs and environs, and packed with
hands-on activities, the vivid "Music in the Life of Africa" canvasses a
range of traditions organized around five arenas of musical experience:
political life, religion, family and community, work and recreation. For
information, the public may call (310) 825-4361 or visit the Web site at
<http://www.fmch.ucla.edu/>http://www.fmch.ucla.edu.
The interinstitutional project "The Heritage of African Music" was
supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to
expanding American understanding of history and culture. Additional
funding for the Fowler-organized exhibition "Music in the Life of Africa"
was provided by The Jerome L. Joss Foundation and the Department of
Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles.
The Fowler's "Music in the Life of Africa" is on view Wednesdays through
Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is free.
The Fowler is located just west of Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. Parking
is available on campus for $5 in Lot 4; following a period of
construction, Lot 4 has been redesigned to make access easier than ever
before for those visiting the museum. For information, the public may call
(310) 825-4361 or visit the Fowler's Web site at
<http://www.fmch.ucla.edu/>http://www.fmch.ucla.edu. The Fowler Museum is
part of UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture.
-UCLA-
CS293
Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Ethnomusicology
UCLA
2539 Schoenberg Hall
Box 951657
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1657
Phone: 310-206-3033
FAX: 310-206-4738
Email: dje...@ucla.edu