IAO Gallery planning Martin Luther King Day celebration Monday
This Aug. 28, 1963, file photo shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledging the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington. (AP file)
A version of this report appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
IAO Gallery planning Martin Luther King Day celebration
Art-making activities, question-and-answer sessions and film screenings will be among the festivities Monday at the gallery and the neighboring Paramount OKC coffee bar/screening room.
Individual Artists of Oklahoma is partnering with the Oklahoma City Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Coalition, the Respect Diversity Foundation and The Paramount OKC to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with festivities from noon to 5 p.m. Monday at the IAO Gallery, 706 W Sheridan.
From noon to 12:30 p.m., Oklahoma visual artists Alicia Rodell (mixed media), Garrett Young (pen and ink), Kendall Brown (solar photography) and Barby Osborn (pastels) will be on hand to assist attendees in creating their own Polaroid-size art piece that will be combined with photos of attendees “flashing the peace sign.” The artworks and photos ultimately be sewn together with multi-colored thread and the finished piece will be displayed at the Respect Diversity Foundation’s April art exhibition.
Representatives of Home Base Studios will film attendees reciting lines from King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” that also will premiere alongside footage from the day’s events at the April exhibit.
In addition, film of King giving his famous speech will be shown.
From 12:30 to 1 p.m., Michael Korenblit and Gwen Mukes will give presentations and participate in question-and-answer sessions.
Korenblit is co-author of “Until We Meet Again,” the true story of love and survival in the Holocaust. In his presentation, the writer takes his audiences on a journey through time to Hrubieszow, Poland, during the late 1930s and 1940s. He relates the stories of two families and the affect of World War II on their lives.
Growing up in segregated Oklahoma in the ’40s and ’50s, Mukes witnessed many forms
Albert Gray Eagle plays the flute in the Crystal Bridge during Opening Night 2013, Monday, December 31, 2012. Photo By David McDaniel/The Oklahoman
of discrimination and was aware at a young age of atrocities committed against blacks. As one of the original Civil Rights’ sit-in participants in Oklahoma she was thrust into history along with the other 13 members of the NAACP Youth Chapter. The experience launched her lifelong quest of working toward equal treatment for all, learning more about her people’s history and history of other cultures and helping others appreciate different cultures in our society.
From 1 to 1:30 p.m., Albert Gray Eagle, a noted American Indian flute artist and performer skilled in the craft of making traditional flutes, and Dwe Williams, who represents Ebony Voices, a storytelling unit of Rhythmically Speaking that incorporates music and womanly style in the telling of stories from the perspective of women, will perform at the gallery.
The Paramount OKC, a coffee bar/screening room at 701 W Sheridan Ave., will screen the film “A Call to Conscience” from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. With the film, Tavis Smiley takes a comprehensive look at King’s fight to put an end to the Vietnam War and the impact his legacy continues to make among peace activists throughout the world
Also, attendees and artists will be invited to design signs promoting peace and diversity to hold during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in downtown Oklahoma City. The parade is to start at 2 p.m. Monday at NW 7 and Broadway Avenue and the intersection of Sheridan Avenue and Mickey Mantle Drive near Deep Deuce.
The event, including art materials, will be offered free of charge.
For more information, call IAO Gallery at 232-6060.
-BAM
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