Word: artfulness
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Such is the philosophy behind the 12th annual Dr. Walter J. Leonard Black Arts Festival, which brought Black Art to the forefront of Harvard’s campus from March 4 through 6. Presented by the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, the Black Arts Festival (BAF) focused on giving a voice to artists from Harvard and beyond, allowing them to reflect on the roots of their identities...
...festival invited various interpretations of what it means to look back and move forward. This year, BAF began with a panel discussion about Black Art featuring renowned poet and writer Amiri Baraka, one of the central figures in the Black Arts movement in Harlem during the 1960s. The panel also featured two perspectives from a younger generation—spoken word artist Joshua Bennett and scholar Cameron Leader-Picone, a fellow at Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. In defining Black Art, Baraka spoke of his experiences growing up in a segregated society and took an explicitly political...
Bennett and Leader-Picone took more open stances regarding what qualifies as Black Art, noting that expressions of black identity can reveal a variety of different cultural and social experiences. However, the two made a point of honoring Baraka’s opinions and his contributions to the movement...
...think I see Black Art changing as material circumstances change,” Bennett said. Then, addressing Baraka, Bennet said, “Your generation gave us that... and I think that’s a beautiful way Black Art encompasses a spectrum of the human experience we haven’t seen before...
This spirit of openness was also present throughout the span of three days and accounts for the vast scope of art and artists involved. Apart from the panel with Baraka, the festival incorporated events drawing from almost every possible artistic discipline, including a film screening, multiple concerts, and a visual art gallery. The art exhibit, which will be located in the Holyoke Center arcade through the end of March, includes paintings, photography, and mixed-media pieces. According to Afari, this range of artistic forms emphasized the importance of the multi-disciplinary nature of the festival...