The celebrated black British artist Everton Wright will launch the Opa- locka Community Development Corporation’s (OLCDC) META series on Sunday, February 22, 2015 at the Art and Recreation Center (ARC) from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
at 675 Ali Baba Avenue, Opa-locka, FL 33054. META will present cultural programming that explores transformative art of the African diaspora, featuring local and international artists of various disciplines including dance, visual arts, music, video and film.
META will be a monthly series at OLCDC’s newly opened facility, The ARC, where artists who transform and reimagine their respective fields through innovative techniques and practices will engage the Opa-locka and South Florida communities, highlighting the role of the arts in community development. META will culminate with OLCDC’s eagerly anticipated annual Art of Transformation during November and early December to overlap with Art Basel/Miami Art Week.
“The response from the art community to what we are doing in Opa-locka has been tremendous,” said Willie Logan, President and CEO of the OLCDC. “Lower-income communities need art and all the amazing aspects it brings with it, yet these communities are often the least likely to benefit from the inspiration, connection, education, and beauty that art brings.”
Coinciding with Black History Month, META’s kickoff event features the South Florida screening of Wright’s video “The Walking Drawings” which premiered at the Royal Academy in London. The screening will be followed by a short talk/Q&A with Wright and panel discussion moderated by Miami/USVI-based curator, Ludlow Bailey. The panel will include veteran artist Gene Tinnie, President of the Kuumba Artist Association; Graylyn Swilley, Vice President of Multicultural Tourism for GMVCB; Gary L. Moore, Opa- Locka artist-in-residence; and Melissa Hunter Davis, Publisher of Sugarcane Magazine.
“I am extremely excited about OLCDC’s focus on harnessing the transformative energy of art/design and was inspired to get involved in the Opa-locka art renaissance based on its blockbuster “In Plain Sight” exhibition during Art Basel 2014,” said Ludlow Bailey.
The public is welcome to attend the free event, and tickets are available at [http://meta-series1.eventbrite.com]. For event details, contact: Ludlow Bailey at ludlowebailey@gmail.com / 786-290-7359, Mikhaile Solomon at mikhaile@olcdc.org / 305-687-3545 or Aileen Alon at aileen@olcdc.org / 305-687-3545.
