Embassy Events
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| Marcus Akinlana |
African-American Artist Discusses Art, Race and Culture with Students in Bratislava
Marcus Akinlana, a renowned American artist, spoke to Slovak students interested in art and U.S. culture via digital video conference from the Embassy on January 29. Using the two murals he painted in the Embassy-sponsored exhibit -- “Artsolutely Awesome North Philly … Yeah!” and “The Great Migration” -- as a starting point, Akinlana spoke about African-American history, current cultural movements and the art and business of creating murals. The students asked him many questions exploring such themes as the technical problems of painting murals to race relations in Philadelphia. Former Fulbright Professor Janeil Engelstad curated this exhibit of never-before-seen murals from the United States. The exhibit called "Celebrate! Commemorate! Communicate!" provides a window on the African-American experience and that community’s contribution to the cultural life of the United States. Opened on January 23 by Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik, the exhibit consists of murals from several U.S. cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, painted by African-American artists. Each mural depicts a point of pride, a moment in history or enduring theme for this community. Along with the murals, Embassy Bratislava will commemorate Black History month by holding a film series at the embassy and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, and a series of videoconferences with the artists who painted the murals. The exhibit is open to the public from January 23 to March 8. To see the exhibit, please call +421 2 5443 0861 or e-mail: contact_bratislava@state.gov for an appointment.
