Afrigather Prematurely of the Harlem High quality Arts Present celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, a number of the artists that will likely be featured within the February 24-26 present gathered in Harlem to speak artwork and the significance of HFAS’s platform for “African diasporic artists.”
Ademola Olugebefola is an artist that has believed within the mission of HFAS from the very starting.
Olugebefola was one of many founding members of the WEUSI Artist Collective, and has been advocate for Black artwork and artist because the Nineteen Sixties.
“It is the one present of its sort of this magnitude,”stated Olugebefola of HFAS. “”There’s loads of artwork expos all around the main cities, there’s none that represents solely artists of African descent.”
Olugebefola stated the present is a crucial place for young and old work together and be taught from one another.
For Kailee Finn, a 20-year-old artist debuting in Harlem High quality Arts Present, stated she is attempting to absorb all of the information she will be able to from older, extra established artist.
Finn, who’s a Junior at Trend Institute of Know-how, stated she discovered concerning the HFAS on instagram.
“I undoubtedly really feel that the world of artwork is opening up extra,” stated Finn, who counts Kehinde Wiley and Angela Davis as inspiration. “My artwork tends to be extra social political, so my different inspirations are Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Dr. Omar Johnson. Additionally they helped me notice that my voice could be heard and I can nonetheless take a stand for one thing.”
The blending of ages and expertise is strictly what HFAS founder Dion Clarke hoped to create 15 years in the past.
“Now we have artists that began with us 15 years in the past, to artists that simply approaching board,” stated Clarke. “There’s one frequent objective and that is actually to salute the humanities, actually expose their creativity and actually be taught to turn out to be an artist.”
Clarke stated the present has turn out to be so huge that it’s transferring to downtown Manhattan. This years present will likely be on the Glasshouse occasion house and can begin on February twenty fourth.
