Re-ReleaseEp. - Keepers of the Culture: an Evening with Ekua Holmes and Dr. Barry Gaither

In honor of Juneteenth, we're re-releasing the audio of a live
event from January 2018 at the PRX Podcast Garage, titled "Keepers
of the Culture: A Celebration Of Maduna And Holmes." The evening
was a celebration of two award-winning artists, collaborators, and
friends, whose work was on display at the garage's exhibition
space. Their sculptures, masks, and collage-based works are an
exploration of ancestral voices, family histories, and the power of
hope, faith and self-determination. The evening was divided into
two parts: a conversation between Ekua and Tamar, which included
audio produced around Ekua's collage, "All Fly Home," and an
exploration of interpretation and storytelling - as applicable to
art as it is to podcasting. The second part was a powerful lecture
by art historian Barry Gaither, on Vuzi's work, Ekua's work, and
the myriad roles artists and viewers have the joy and the
responsibility of playing for and with one another. Ekua Holmes is
a painter and collage artist who uses news clippings, photographs,
vibrant color, and skillful composition to infuse her work with
energy. Her layered, abstract creations convey a sense of unity and
evoke memories that are both personal and universal. In her
collages, she revisits the joy and challenges of childhood through
adult eyes. These works reexamine the foundational relationships,
games, and rule that we learn at an early age and apply throughout
our lives. Vuzi Maduna (1940 - 2007) was a sculptor and painter who
spent much of his life as an artist resident of the Gallery at the
Piano Factory in Boston. Maduna began his exploration of African
culture with a study of African religions which led him to further
examine and interpret the traditional embodiment of belief and
myth. Educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, he
was a member of the African American Master Artists in Residency
Program of Northeastern University. His work has been exhibited in
the MFA and the ICA, as well as in Tokyo and the People’s Republic
of China. Yet Maduna returned to the neighborhoods of his childhood
to create pieces that remind us of the African heritage that many
in the community share. His public installations are located in
Cambridge (the Margaret Fuller House, the Cambridge Community
Center, The King School) and in the Boston area, including The
Judge, in Roxbury. Edmund Barry Gaither is the founding Director
and Curator of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American
Artists (NCAAA), an organization that he developed from a concept
to an institution with collections exceeding three thousand objects
and a thirty-two year history of exhibitions celebrating the visual
arts heritage of black people worldwide. Gaither is also Special
Consultant at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston where he has
served as curator for eight exhibitions including a ground breaking
show in l970, Afro-American Artists: New York and Boston. Special
thanks to Kerri Hoffman and PRX, Alex Braunstein and the PRX
Podcast Garage, Gina James, and WGBH.