The Amistad Center now includes new, expanded exhibition space and a study center.

Courtesy image

Submitted release

After being closed to the public for the past year as a top-to-bottom renovation of exhibition space proceeded, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture will re-open to the public during Black History Month on Saturday, Feb. 14, with new, expanded facilities and the premier of a new exhibition.

The newly reconfigured and expanded space for The Amistad Center, which is a “museum-in-a-museum” at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, will feature 35 percent more exhibition, study and office space and, for the first time, a study center that can be used by researchers and the public. The expanded space will allow for the simultaneous showing of traveling exhibits and selections from The Amistad Center’s vast collection.

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture is dedicated to celebrating art and culture influenced by people of African descent through education, scholarship and social experiences. Its collection of 7,000 works of art, artifacts and ephemera documents nearly the entire history of the literary, artistic, military, enslaved, and free lives of Black people in America and inspires a range of exhibitions and public programs and events.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome everyone to our enriched spaces for the research, study and enjoyment of art and culture influenced by people of African descent,” said Olivia S. White, Executive Director of The Amistad Center. “The new John H. Motley Study will be a fabulous place for researchers and members of the public to engage in actively exploring our collection and the heritage and lessons it conveys.”

The premier of the exhibition This is My Story, This is My Song: Writers, Musicians & the Struggle for Black Freedom will also be featured beginning Feb. 14.  The exhibition will deeply explore The Amistad Center’s extensive book and music collection for the first time.  

New Haven-based jazz cornetist and Wesleyan educator Taylor Ho Bynum has collaborated with The Amistad Center to interpret the music collection and develop performances that will be offered throughout 2015. High and low technology based activities in the new James and JoAnn Price Educational Resource Gallery will facilitate visitor engagement and self-directed learning. The exhibition is sponsored by Aetna and CT Humanities.

Saturday, Feb. 14, is also the Wadsworth Atheneum’s Second Saturdays for Families, a program that includes hands-on art projects, tours for families, live music, and engaging activities throughout the museum and The Amistad Center.  Admission is free 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

The theme on Feb. 14 is Ode to Romare Bearden. Visitors can celebrate Romare Bearden’s love of art, music and literature through his paintings and murals, and can create a collage inspired by Bearden’s work while listening to live jazz. Participants will also be encouraged to visit the Hartford Public Library at 500 Main Street to see the recently restored Bearden murals, “Olympics” and “Untitled.”

The previous evening, The Amistad Center will host a Grand Re-Opening Reception + Preview for sponsors and members, celebrating the opening of the new, expanded Center. The theme for the evening will be “Our Story, Our Song, Our Center.”

“The re-imagined exhibition space and The John H. Motley Study will truly be ‘the center of our community’ and ‘the center for the future’,” White said. “We are tremendously grateful to our extraordinarily generous donors who made this transformative initiative possible. 

The Amistad Center is an independently incorporated and managed not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, located in the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art – a “museum within a museum,” enjoying a unique institutional relationship that facilitates rich cross-cultural conversations between art and audiences.

While The Amistad Center’s galleries at the Wadsworth Atheneum were closed for renovation, a series of exhibits at alternate locations with community partners took place during 2014, including at the University of Saint Joseph, Hartford Public Library, and Connecticut’s Old State House.

Culture-based educational programs at The Amistad Center include lectures, workshops, films, children and family programs, seminars and tours – all related to The Center’s collections and exhibitions. In addition, a Teen Advisory Group (TAG) provides culture-based educational opportunities for teens in Greater Hartford.

The Amistad Center is not related to the many other organizations in Connecticut and across the country who share the name Amistad. Amistad is a popular choice as it remembers a significant event and calls to mind African American strength and history. The Amistad Center website is www.amistadartandculture.org or call 860-838-4133.