Celebrating the beginning of NSU’s month-long recognition of Black
History with the opening reception of Road to Empowerment: Art of the
Florida Highwaymen. Featuring a welcome by the Chair of the Organizing
Committee, Mara Kiffin, NSU president George Hanbury, Museum of Art |
Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University Executive Director, Irvin
Lippman and Gary Monroe, Author and Curator put the work of the
Highwaymen in historical perspective.
At a time when being black
in Florida meant being subjected to Jim Crow laws and limited
opportunity, 26 African American youths from the Fort Pierce/Vero Beach
area broke the mold by forming a loosely organized group of
entrepreneurial artists that came to be known as the Highwaymen.
These
socially disenfranchised artists achieved the American Dream during
their heyday in the 1950s and 60s, and went on to help shape the visual
legacy of Florida history by creating more than 250,000 oil paintings
featuring the Sunshine State’s beautiful landscapes.
Now, a
collection of these inspiring, original, mid-20th century paintings
will be on view Feb. 4 through April 10, 2010 in the Second Floor
Gallery of the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information
Technology Center, located on Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) main
campus at 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Boulevard in Davie.
The
exhibition, Road to Empowerment: Art of the Florida Highwaymen, is
organized by Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern
University and consists of more than 40 pieces of artwork selected from
regional and private collections.
Road to Empowerment is part
of the university’s Seventh Annual African Presence Art Exhibition and
2010 Black History Month celebration, which includes a month long
calendar of compelling discussions, engaging performances, educational
workshops, award winning film screenings and dynamic speakers. Road to
Empowerment is sponsored by NSU’s Office of University Relations, and
NSU’s Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale.
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