Gadsden Arts Hosts Art, Community, and Higher Education Workshop

Join leading artists and scholars from FAMU Foster-Tanner Gallery, Anderson-Brickler Gallery, and Gadsden Arts for three, one-hour sessions that explore the legacies of Elizabeth Catlett and Samella Lewis. Admission is free, and you can attend one, two, or all three sessions! Topics include “The Life and Work of Elizabeth Catlett and Samella Lewis,” “Art and Community,” and “Dr. Samella Lewis and the Legacy of HBCU Art Museums and Galleries.” All sessions are open to the public, with coffee and light refreshments provided.

The Art of Elizabeth Catlett is presented by Trulieve, FSU College of Medicine, and Black Fig, with this workshop presented in partnership with the National Hookup of Black Women-Gadsden. Gadsden Arts is sponsored in part by the City of Quincy, State of Florida Division of Arts and Culture, and Gadsden Tourist Development Council.

“The Life and Work of Elizabeth Catlett and Samella Lewis” will be presented at 12:30pm by Gadsden Arts incoming Curator Ashley Williams, who will tell the inspiring stories of Catlett and Lewis, barriers they overcame to pioneer opportunities for women and Black artists in the field, and their enduring influence in the world of visual art.

“Art and Community” will be presented at 2pm by Celeste Hart, art collector and founder of the Anderson-Brickler Gallery (ABG), and Kabuya P. Bowens-Saffo, printmaker and curator of ABG. They will speak about the inspiration of Black Art in the Community with special moments and memories about Dr. Samella Lewis and Elizabeth Catlett.

“Dr. Samella Lewis and the Legacy of HBCU Art Museums and Galleries” will be presented at 3:30pm by Aja Roache, Curator of the FAMU Foster-Tanner Gallery. Roache will trace Lewis’s academic career from early education through her work founding Hampton University’s International Review of African American Art (IRAA), and the impact of HBCU art museums, galleries, and collections on her journey.

The Art of Elizabeth Catlett from the Collection of Samella Lewis will be on view from February 17 – April 15, 2023. Gadsden Arts is located at 13 N. Madison Street in Quincy, FL, open Tuesdays – Saturdays 10 am—5 pm. Exhibition admission is free for children, museum members, and children’s Field Trip participants. The ArtZone is also free, open every Saturday from 10 am—5 pm. Admission for nonmember adults is $3–$10, and free for everyone on First Saturdays. For more information visit: gadsdenarts.org.