THE BOX THAT ROCKS
30 Years of Video Music Box and the Rise of Hip Hop Music & Culture
Guest Curated by Dexter Wimberly
March 10 – May 28, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 10 | 6pm – 9pm

Amy Andrieux * Malik Y. Cumbo * LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs * Delphine Fawundu * Bobbito Garcia * Tahir Hemphill * Jonathan Mannion * Tim Okamura * M. Tony Peralta * Fab 5 Freddy * Ali Santana * Jamel Shabazz * Daniel Amazu Wasser

THE BOX THAT ROCKS: 30 Years of Video Music Box and the Rise of Hip Hop Music & Culture is an exhibition of contemporary art that celebrates the global influence of Video Music Box, and the show’s historic contribution to urban music and culture. In 1983, Ralph McDaniels launched Video Music Box, a groundbreaking television program that ushered in the popularity and innovation of music videos. As the show’s creator and host, and the producer and/or director of over 400 music videos, Ralph McDaniels is a pioneer whose influence is still felt throughout the music industry. It is safe to say that hundreds of Hip Hop, R&B and Dancehall artists owe their street credibility, record sales, and a great deal of their commercial success to Video Music Box.

At its inception, Video Music Box broadcasted videos from all genres of music. However, it was one of the first television programs ever to feature Hip Hop videos primarily. In the early 1980’s, networks such as MTV did not play the music videos of black recording artists. Video Music Box ushered in a new era of cultural identity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Ralph McDaniels also recognized the show’s power to speak directly to inner city youth in a way that no one else was doing at the time. Each day, McDaniels used the show as a platform to spread messages of unity, non-violence, anti-drug abuse, anti-crime, political activism and self-respect.

“I have continued to produce Video Music Box independently for over 30 years as a testament to the art form. Video Music Box is the place where classic visuals have been documented and new music continues to flourish on a television program produced by someone who controls their own content and vision,” states Video Music Box creator, Ralph McDaniels. “The show represents hope for those in the African-American and Latino community who want to express themselves freely without the chains of corporate America. The fact is that Video Music Box has always been an important outlet for those creating Hip Hop or any other genre of music. I believe that people from any race or background can learn from the show’s message of positivity and contribute to the culture.”

THE BOX THAT ROCKS is guest curated by Dexter Wimberly, and is on view from March 10 through May 28, 2012 in the museum’s main gallery at the James E. Davis 80 Arts Building in Brooklyn, New York. The show features photography, painting, mixed-media, video installation, and interactive digital art.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Screening: HomeGrown
Tuesday, March 13
6:00 – 8:00pm | MoCADA
Screening of HomeGrown: HipLife in Ghana, a documentary film about Ghanaian music group VIP (Vision In Progress) that follows their journey from the Muslim ghetto in Accra to their first international tour. Q&A with VIP following screening.

Panel Discussion
Friday, March 16
7:00 – 9:00pm | MoCADA
“Can’t we all just get along?: Integration, assimilation, and fantasies of American society” is part of the series After 1989, organized by Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Panelists include Jay Smooth, Jeff Chang, Kazembe Balagun, Hiram Perez & Hua Hsu.

Women in Hip Hop
Thursday, March 29
6:00 – 9:00pm | MoCADA
Celebrate Women’s History Month at MoCADA with a panel discussion featuring a multigenerational group of women music artists. Special reception featuring a live DJ set of music by female recording artists. Stay tuned for the official line-up!

Children’s Program
Saturday, April 21
3:00 – 6:00pm | MoCADA
Calling all Children and families – Come by the museum for a children’s Hip Hop and freestyle workshop led by a local teaching artist. The workshop wil be followed by an open mic performance featuring all participants.

Video Music Box @ BAM
Tuesday, May 8
7:30 – 9:00pm
BAM Rose Cinemas | Peter Jay Sharp Building | 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn
Special screening of Video Music Box highlights and performances. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Ralph McDaniels.

*Image credit: ”Solid” by Daniel Amazu Wasser, 11×15 inches, mixed media collage on paper, 2010.

PIXELATING: INDIE FILMS IN BLACK

MoCADA and Black Public Media (BPM) present Pixelating: Indie Films in Black, a series of screenings held in the month of February in honor of Black History Month.

Screening throughout various venues in Brooklyn and New York City, this film series couples independently produced films with web series to promote and highlight emerging Black voices in film and television. Following each screening, join us for a discussion with the directors, producers, and players that make this series possible. All screenings are free and open to the public.

PIXELATING: Indie Films in Black is made possible by Media MVMT,  Black Public Media, Brooklyn Public Library, The Center for Place, Culture and Politics at CUNY Graduate Center, IFC Films, Zanta Media, Issa Rae Productions, South Oxford Space – A Project of A.R.T./New York, and Lambent Foundation.

SCHEDULE

DAY 1
Saturday, February 4 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn

FEATURE: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | Directed by Terence Nance

In An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Terence Nance creates a multi-media film that puts you in the shoes of a quixotic young man, as fantasies, emotions, and memories, race through his mind during this singular moment in time. Selected for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, this will be the New York premier.

*Image credit | Film still from An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

WEB SERIES: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl | Created by Issa Rae

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl follows the title character and friends as they navigate through life, love and awkward situations. With the catch phrase: “We’re all awkward in our own way; it’s natural,” this popular web series created by Issa Rae portrays life’s uncomfortable and challenging situations.

DAY 2

Thursday, February 10 | 6:30 – 8:30pm
CUNY Graduate Center, Martin E. Segal Theatre, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC

FEATURE: Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin | Directed by Nancy D. Kates and Bennett Singer

This documentary reflects on the life of Bayard Rustin, master strategist and tireless activist, best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Helping mold Martin Luther King, Jr. into an international peace symbol, he suffered backlash for being an openly gay man.

WEB SERIES: Mondo Black: “Black Queer & Beyond” | Produced by Gabriel Tolliver, BPM

Mondo Black gets up close and personal with Jomama Jones, “more diva starlet than drag queen”– and visits with award-winning poet, writer, performer and actress Pamela Sneed to discuss international activism, gender identification, and the written and spoken word.

DAY 3

Saturday, February 25 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn

FEATURE: Medicine for Melancholy | Directed by Barry Jenkins

This feature film is a love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American twenty-somethings dealing with the conundrum of being a minority in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco.

WEB SERIES: Habesha Life | Created by Ambessa Jir Berhe

Habesha Life is an episodic online short film series. The story is about social interactions of a group of young habesha/abesha (Ethiopian and Eritrean people) in and around the Washington, DC Metro Area.

Check out the film series trailer here created by Media MVMT

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pixelating: Indie Films in Black is one part of 5 curated experiences conceptualized by MoCADA’s Curatorial Fellows, Zemen Kidane, Isissa Komada-John, and Jabari Owens-Bailey. The film series is in conjunction with MoCADA’s current exhibition, Pixelating: Black in New Dimensions, on view at MoCADA from November 17, 2011 to February 25, 2012.

The National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) is dedicated to developing black digital authorship and distributing unique stories of the black experience in the new media age. Hena Ashraf of BPM co-curated this festival along with the support of NBPC staff. www.blackpublicmedia.org

Feed Your Head: The African Origins of the Scientific Aesthetic
Curated by Kalia Brooks, Director of Exhibitions
November 17, 2011 – February 25, 2012

Feed Your Head joins together two visual artists with a physicist and ethnomathematician to explore the aesthetic convergence of science and art. The exhibition focuses on teaching about science through the visual arts, as well as configurations of the world that are grounded in African-based visual systems. Feed Your Head make for an intriguing collaboration in the arts and sciences through the rubric of the African Diaspora. The point is to bring these fields together in a shared aesthetic purpose. In addition, this project seeks to encourage partnerships by creating the potential for curriculum building that connects the work of the museum with other people and places engaged in creative learning.

For this exhibition, the artists have selected to use the African-based visual symbols of Adinkra to create original works of art that are derived from the repetition of the same geometric shape, known as algorithmic fractals, and the theory of supersymmetry, which is the concept that history repeats itself. The installation is designed to give the feeling of an immersive environment where the artworks are meant to be experienced in context with each other rather than as individual units. Feed Your Head innovates new ways in thinking about teaching, learning, exhibition-making, partnerships and research in the visual arts, and offers an opportunity to expand each participant’s body of work through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Artists: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Sylvester James Gates, Jr., Tanea Richardson and Ron Eglash

*Image credit: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, black is the nite (Round the World), stop motion animation video still, 2011.

Artist Talk
Friday, November 18 | 7:00 – 9:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Moderated by curator Kalia Brooks

Educator’s Workshop
Tuesday, December 6 | 7:00 – 9:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Art educators will learn new techniques to integrate art and science into their teaching practices. The workshop will conclude with a physical rendering in paper sculpture and other media. Led by Professor Audrey Bennett from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute.

Children’s Program
Saturday, December 10 | 1:00 – 3:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Adinkra stamp textile workshop for children and families, led by a MoCADA Teaching Artist.

Thinking & Creating in Five Dimensions
Thursday, January 12 | 7:00 – 9:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Lecture and workshop led by designer and architect Trudy Miller to explore the space- time continuum through fashion.

Children’s Program
Saturday, February 18 | 1:00 – 3:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Children learn the mathematics of braiding and cornrows through art making. Led by Professor Audrey Bennett from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute.

All programs are free and open to the public.

Special thanks to Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Sylvester James Gates, Jr., Tanea Richardson and Ron Eglash, University of Maryland (UMD), Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Media MVMT.

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum

PIXELATING: Black in New Dimensions
Curated by Zemen Kidane, Isissa Komada-John, & Jabari Owens-Bailey
MoCADA’s 2011-2012 Curatorial Fellows
November 17, 2011 – February 25, 2012

If one gets close enough, zooms in to get an intimate look, can the color black become pixelated? Pixelating is a series of five curatorial projects taking place in various formats from November 17, 2011 to February 25, 2012. Under the overarching theme of Pixelating, the curatorial series highlights the discreet elements that directly challenge notions of a universal Black identity.

Pixelating brings together works of contemporary artists, writers and filmmakers who engage with issues of cultural authenticity, hybridity, memory, and re-imagining Diaspora in a globalized world. Pixelating seeks to add to the lineage of an ever-evolving Black aesthetic. This exhibition creates a visual language for current debates over the continued necessity for overt racial engagement versus the validity of racial ambiguity in the Obama Era. Pixelating deconstructs the monolith, bringing to light contemporary concepts of identity and self-definition in this current moment.

Artists: Nida Abidi, Crystal Z. Campbell, Delphine Diallo & Sidi “Leghead” Abdul-Khaaliq, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Las Hermanas Iglesias, Lorra Jackson, and Jacolby Satterwhite.

Satellite Exhibition
Pixelating: Black Image in the Age of Digital Reproduction
On view November 17, 2011 – February 25, 2012
Lambent Foundation, 55 Exchange Place, Suite 406, NYC
Featuring works by Crystal Z. Campbell, Delphine Diallo, and Jacolby Satterwhite.
For an appointment to view the exhibition, please call 646.747.2053 or email info@lambentfoundation.org. Visiting hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00am – 4:00pm.

Artist Talk
Tuesday, November 29 | 6:00 – 8:30pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Moderated by Trey Ellis, author of “The New Black Aesthetic.”

Publication Release Party
January 13  | 6:00 – 8:00pm
Lambent Foundation, 55 Exchange Place, Suite 406, NYC
Join the curators, artists and publication contributors to celebrate the release of the Pixelating literary publication. Wine and refreshments will be served.

D-I-Y Festival
Saturday, January 21 | 2:00 – 6:00pm
MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
A curated marketplace that highlights the diverse cross section of artisans of color who are part of the Do-it-Yourself movement, interested in exchanging handmade goods, ideas and skills in community.

Pixelating: Indie Films in Black
A series of screenings that couple independently produced films with web series that offer an alternative to mainstream media’s depictions of Black life. A conversation with the directors will follow each screening. Festival curated in partnership with Black Public Media.

Saturday, February 4 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | Directed by Terence Nance
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl | Created by Issa Rae

Thursday, February 10 | 6:30 – 8:30pm
CUNY Graduate Center, Martin E. Segal Theatre, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin | Produced by Black Public Media
Mondo Black: Black Queer & Beyond | Produced by Gabriel Tolliver

Saturday, February 25 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
Medicine for Melancholy | Directed by Barry Jenkins
Habesha Life | Created by Ambessa Jir Berhe

All programs are free and open to the public.

Special thanks to Pixelating partners: Media MVMT, Lambent Foundation, Black Public Media, Brooklyn Public Library, The Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at CUNY Graduate Center, IFC Films, Zanta Media, Issa Rae Productions, South Oxford Space – A Project of A.R.T./New York, and The Sheridan Press.

That’s the spirit fueling the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts’ D-I-Y Festival that’s being held on Jan. 21, where craftsmen and women of African descent will display, sell, and provide tutorials on how to produce an eclectic mix of homemade goods.

Feed Your Head Event with Professor Audrey Bennett from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute.

Come out and learn and have fun!! Children and Families learn about the  mathematics of braiding and cornrows through art making.

MoCADA’s museum shop features unique gifts for the entire family. From jewelry to home goods, children’s books to African Diaspora themed apparel, browse the shelves and you’re sure to find what you need! Shop Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 6pm.

Spotlight: Indego Africa Yoga Mat Bags

Handmade by women artisans in Rwanda, these yoga mat bags are made from gorgeous African prints in a collection of vibrant colors. These fair trade products directly support Rwandan businesswomen, as 100% of the proceeds go to training programs in financial management and entrepreneurship taught by Rwanda’s top university students. For active, stylish, socially conscious Yogis!

Browse other Indego Africa products in MoCADA’s museum shop, and buy your yoga mat bag today for $46.

Currently Reading: Three Days Before the Shooting… by Ralph Ellison

This new release is the prolific author’s unfinished second novel, an edited collection that the novelist spent nearly four decades writing. Edited by John F. Callahan and Adam Bradley, Three Days Before the Shooting is the long awaited follow up to Ellison’s seminal text, Invisible Man.

“Ralph Ellison’s generosity, humor, and nimble language are, of course, on display in Juneteenth, but it is his  vigorous intellect that rules the novel. A majestic narrative concept.”    –Toni Morrison

Purchase your hardcover copy for $50 at MoCADA’s museum shop.

Director and Founder Laurie Cumbo giving a tour

MoCADA invites you and your students for a rare opportunity to learn about their connection to the African Diaspora by scheduling a visit to MoCADA. We look forward to welcoming you to Brooklyn’s first African Diaspora Museum!

Interactive tours at  MoCADA are available for students in grades 2-12. Providing tours for school groups is at the core of the museum’s educational mission to create a greater understanding of the arts and cultures of the African Diaspora. Tours are adapted based on the changing exhibitions and focus on particular themes being studied in the classroom. Tours are approximately one hour

Reservations

School tours take place Monday – Friday 10am-4pm and must be arranged at least one week in advance with Ruby Amanze, Director of Education.
To schedule a tour for your class, please Download Student Tour Form and complete all required information. Please send completed forms by:
Email: ra@mocada.org
Fax: 718.230.0246
Tel:  718.230.0492 ext. 115 with the information.

Fees

Museum visits are $4 per student, teachers and chaperones are free.

Group Size

A class can range from 10-30 people, with at least 1 adult chaperone for every 10 students.
MoCADA is an approved vendor with the New York City Department of Education. Schools can now pay for Educational programs with a purchase order.
MoCADA Department of Education Contract #QR164AV
Vendor Code – MOC018000

Adult Tours

MoCADA offers private guided group tours for adults to correspond with each exhibition. Tour groups can range from 10 – 30 people and can be held Monday – Friday, 10am-4pm. Tours generally last one hour and offer an overview of the current exhibition in an engaging format.

Reservations

Please see school tour reservation information above.

Fees

The cost for adult tours is $5 per person.

Membership

Become a member of Brooklyn’s only museum of the African Diaspora! MoCADA has an active member community that allows you to support the museum, network with fellow members, and build a relationship with the institution. Individual membership provides you and a guest with free admission to the museum for one year. Visit as often as you like!

Annual Prices

Individual: $35 Student: $25 Senior: $25 Family: $50 (two adults & two children

Membership Benefits

Family outing to an MoCADA exhibition opening

• Free, unlimited admission for one member with a guest for twelve months.
• 10% discount in the Museum Gift Shop
• A personalized, wallet-size MoCADA Membership Card
• Reduced admission to all special events including lectures and film screenings
• Invitation to exclusive members only event
• Joint membership with the Museum for African Art
• Families receive all benefits from individual
• membership in addition to and extra membership card and an additional guest pass for the year.

MoCADA membership includes a Soul of Brooklyn Card, providing 10% discounts at participating Soul of Brooklyn local businesses throughout Brooklyn! For more information, visit Soul of Brooklyn.

Download the membership form below and mail it in to be start membership today:

membershipform

Welcome to the MoCADA community!