National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black College and Universities Twenty-Five Year Anniversary Celebration
From March 1 – 3, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia, the National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (NAAHBCU) will begin celebrating its twenty-five-year silver anniversary as an organization supporting artists and professors from HBCUs. Over a three-day period, several events and activities are planned. On Friday, March 1st, members will visit Morris Brown College for a commemorative ceremony of its founding as an arts organization at the college. They will also visit artist Kevin Cole’s studio from 6:30 until 8:00 pm. On Saturday, March 2nd, the group will meet at the Hammonds House Museum for a day of meetings, speakers and presentations along with the National Conference of Artists who are celebrating their sixty-fifth anniversary as an art organization.
The special guest speaker will be, Dr. Halima Taha an art professional whose curatorial, art advisory, appraisal, strategic planning and professional speaking services develop corporate, academic, and civic programs and audiences. She is best known for her groundbreaking best seller, Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas.
The NAAHBCU exhibition Living the Legacy: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years and Surging Forward, can be viewed at the Chastain Arts Center Gallery, Atlanta, GA, from January 26 - March 9, 2024. Chastain, national anniversary exhibition entitled he oldest art center in Atlanta, will host an NAAHBCU artists reception on Saturday, March 2nd from 2:00 until 5:00 pm. Twenty artists will be exhibiting thirty-two works of art. Exhibiting artists include Lee Ransaw, Peggy Blood, Kevin Cole, Dennis Winston, Ricky Calloway, William Buchanan, III, Hasaan A. Kirkland, Hye Young Kim, Henry Blackman III, Dwight Smith, Vandorn Hinnant, Roymieco Carter, Arturo Lindsay, Dontay Farley, Desmond McFarlane, Clarence Talley, Sr., Kevin Pullen, Bryan Wilson, Johnnie Mae Maberry and others.
NAAHBCU was founded during the summer of 1999 on the campus of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr. Lee Ransaw, then Dean of Arts and Letters, and Chair of the Fine Arts Department, and thirteen Charter Members from other HBCUs. The current president is Dr. Peggy Blood, Savannah State University. NAAHBCU average three member exhibitions per year in museums, galleries and institutions of higher learning. The organization has exhibited internationally in India, 2020-21 and in 2023 at the Harmony Art Gallery, Shanghai, China.
NAAHBCU is an organization of artists and professors from HBCUs with a mission to bring Art and Art Education to the forefront of member institutions and to keep these programs as institutional priorities for generations to come. The Alliance is committed to developing in its members, and especially students, the artistic and life skills needed to function as literate citizens in the society of today and in the future. The NAAHBCU also provides comprehensive activities that offer artistic and expressive opportunities for professional artists employed or formerly employed at member institutions as well as for historians and curators, collectors, and friends of the arts. The organization currently has member artists representing twenty-eight HBCUs.
