The DuSable Presents YANGA FEST!
The DuSable Presents YANGA FEST
A New Look…..A New Date…….A New Focus
Mark your calendars and plan to make your way to the beautiful southside of Chicago and the country’s first African American History Museum for “YANGA FEST.” The event which was formerly known as “The Arts & Crafts Festival,” has a new look, a new date and a new focus and will take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 28th and 29th, 2010, to celebrate the opening of the Museum’s newest exhibition, “The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present,” and also “Dance Africa Chicago 2010.” The event will take place at the Museum, which is located at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street at South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Chicago….and best of all, it’s FREE!
This annual celebration of art, words, music & dance, has been renamed “Yanga Fest,” and showcases the creativity of African American & Mexican performing artists in the community. For 35 years, the DuSable Museum of African American History has produced and presented a summer festival, which has gained international acclaim by showcasing local and national rising artists in a juried art show. This year, The DuSable expands the Festival and includes the 2010 presentation of DanceAfrica Chicago, in addition to celebrating it’s newest exhibition, “The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present.”
“The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present”:
Curated by Sangrario Cruz of the University of Veracruz, and the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Visual Arts Director, Cesareo Moreno, this exhibition through paintings, photographs, lithographs and historical texts, highlights the impact that Africans had on Mexican culture and examines the complexity of race, culture, politics, and social stratification. No exhibition has showcased the history, artistic expressions and practices of Afro-Mexicans in such broad scope as this one, which includes a comprehensive range of artwork from 18th Century Colonial caste paintings to contemporary artistic expressions.
Organized and originally presented by the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, this traveling exhibition features important historical figures such as Yanga, an African leader and founder of the first free African township in the Americas (January 6, 1609) and illuminates the contributions of Africans to the artistic, culinary, musical and cultural traditions of Mexican culture from the past through the present day. Featured in the exhibition are artists such as Rufino Tamayo, Elizabeth Catlett, Francisco Toledo, Maria Yampolski, Francisco Mora and Afro-Mexicano artists; Igancio Canela, Mario Guzman, Guillermo Vargas and Hermengildo Gonzalez.
DanceAfrica Chicago 2010:From Africa to Mexico
Dance is a universal language spoken across the globe and in celebration of “Yanga Fest,” DanceAfrica Chicago2010 will bridge that cultural connection with a rhythmic infusion of traditional African dance in Mexican culture. Intertwining traditional movements, spoken word and storytelling, DanceAfrica Chicago 2010 gives life and color to the core of each culture.
DanceAfrica Chicago 2010: From Africa to Mexico and under the direction of DanceAfrica Founder, Chuck Davis, will feature: Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago and the Mexican Dance Ensemble.
Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, founded in 1972, performs authentic and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient African and African-American dance, music and folklore.
Mexican Dance Ensemble (MDE) provides a challenging environment that preserves Mexican Folklore, and creative dance. MDE is operated as a collaborative effort that provides an opportunity for each member to contribute his/her distinctive talents and skills in an environment that reflects cultural and social diversity.
DanceAfrica Chicago 2010:From Africa to Mexico, will be presented on Saturday, August 28, 2010 from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. for ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!
In addition, during Yanga Fest, guests may partake of a vendor marketplace offering hand made crafts, jewelry, dolls, books and clothing. There’s also additional live entertainment, educational seminars, book signings, films, affordable outdoor dining and family activities. Performers scheduled to entertain during the two-day event include: Yanga Fest Dance Party featuring DJ Mozdefmite vs. DJ World ( Saturday, 7:00 – 8:30 P.M.); The Sones de Mexico Ensemble, (Sunday, 5:30 – 6:30 P.M.) The Family Reunion Band,( Sunday, 7:30 – 8:30 P.M.) and the Alyo Children’s Dance Company ( Sunday, 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. ). In addition there will also be a lecture/demonstration entitled, “The Origins of Music in Mexico,” presented by the Sones de Mexico Ensemble ( Sunday, 3:00 – 4:00 P.M.) and The African Jubilee Film Festival will present “Touki Bouki.”( Sunday, 2:00 – 3:30 P.M.)
And to round out the event, some of Chicago’s most innovative and exciting restaurants will be offering up delicious summer time cuisine and Bike Chicago will be offering FREE Presidential Bicycle Tours of Hyde Park.
Admission to YANGA FEST is FREE and the public is invited. The DuSable Museum is accessible by CTA buses # 3, # 4 and #55 and limited parking is also available on the premises.
This program is sponsored in part by the Chicago Park District; CityArts III; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; the Illinois State Museum; The Chicago Crusader; Bike Chicago; Service Sanitation, Inc.; and United Airlines, the official airline of the DuSable Museum. For more information, please call (773) 947-0600.
The DuSable Museum of African American History, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country, has been dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the history and culture of African and Americans of African descent for more than 46 years. For more information on the Museum and its programs, please call (773) 947-0600 or you may visit our website at http://www.dusablemuseum.org.