When We Gather... by M. Florine Démosthène and Atsu Numadzi

About

Attendance Details

Dates: Friday, July 9 - Sunday August 22
Gallery Hours (subject to change): Thursday/Friday from 4-8pm and Saturday/Sunday from 12-6pm
Location: Sandlot Southeast (Get Directions)
Hosted by Sandlot Southeast, in partnership with MRP Realty

Exhibit Information

“When We Gather…” is a visual arts installation highlighting the cultural significance of flag making in military campaigns, clan identity, spirituality, and storytelling. Démosthène and Numadzi will examine this mode of expression and cultural links between Haïti and the Eѵeawó people of Ghana, Togo, and Bènin.

Démosthène will use the history of Haïti’s battle for independence as a departure point for this project, particularly the role that women served. In January 1804, after a decade of revolution, Haïti liberated itself from European colonizers and emerged as the first post-colonial Black-led republic in the world. One of the women portrayed in Démosthène’s work is the warrior Victoria Montou aka Gran Adbaraya Toya. Gran Toya, originally from the Kingdom of Dahomey in modern Bènin, is credited with teaching hand-to-hand combat and knife throwing to Haïti’s founding father Jean Jacques Dessalines.

Numadzi will investigate the historical symbology used by the Aƞlo Ewé people (one of 13 clans of the Eѵeawó) throughout military campaigns and festivals. The Ewé migrated from Egypt to Sudan to Bènin and Ghana. Their cultural symbols represent what they brought from all these places into Ghana, and who they are presently. For example, the flag is a symbol of strength, militancy, and togetherness representing the unified power of the clan and its supreme king. Numadzi, a prince himself, draws on his lineage and kingship to create his flags for the installation.

M. Florine Démosthène (Flo·reen Day·most·ten) was born in the United States and raised between Port-au-Prince, Haiti and New York. Démosthène earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parsons School for Design in New York and her Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College-City University of New York. She has exhibited extensively through group and solo exhibitions in the USA, Caribbean, UK, Europe, and Africa, with recent solo shows including, Between Possibility and Actuality at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Chicago, a solo booth exhibition with Mariane Ibrahim Gallery at the The New York Armory Fair and The Stories I Tell Myself with Gallery 1957, Accra. She is the recipient of a Wachtmeister Award, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Arts Moves Africa Grant, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. She has participated in residencies in the USA, UK, Slovakia, Ghana, and Tanzania. Her work can be seen at National Museum for African American History and Culture, Africa First Collection, University of South Africa (UNISA), Lowe Museum of Art, Hessler Museum of Art, PFF Collection of African American Art and in various private collections worldwide.

Atsu Numadzi (Aaah·chu Nuu·maah·djee) is a Ghanaian artist whose work explores contemporary ideologies of blackness and West African culture. He was born in the Volta Region (Adidomé) and studied at Ghanatta College of Art and Design. His most recent work, “Africa In Us”, is a community investigation project where Numadzi creates a mixed media portrait that is based on a series of interviews with Southeast residents of Washington D.C. The core of his artwork has involved working with West African immigrants who are employed in the service industry, particularly hair stylists and barbers. He has exhibited in Ghana, Tanzania, and the United States. He is based in Washington D.C./Maryland.

CulturalDC supports innovative artists across all disciplines and makes their work accessible to diverse audiences. We provide unconventional space for relevant and challenging work that is essential to nurturing vibrant urban communities. CulturalDC has made a name for itself in providing a platform for bold contemporary artists to interact with audiences in thought-provoking ways. Previous exhibitions include “Ivanka Vacuuming” by Jennifer Rubell, “THIS IS NOT A DRILL” by Jefferson Pinder, and “Mighty, Mighty” by Devan Shimoyama. CulturalDC owns Source Theatre, and a 40-ft shipping container transformed into a Mobile Art Gallery. In addition to presenting, CulturalDC has brokered more than 350,000 square feet of artist space since 1998, including the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market, Atlas Performing Arts Center, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Source Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. Visit www.culturaldc.org; Facebook: CulturalDC; Instagram: @cultural_dc; or Twitter: Cultural_DC.

Social Media Tags: @florinedemosthene @numadzi @sandlotsoutheast @cultural_dc #WhenWeGather #MobileArtGallery #Haiti #Ghana #DCArt