Exploring the theme of Ubuntu through Photography and Printmaking
“I firmly believe that art can change minds and minds can change systems and systems can change lives.”
Delita Martin
I Am Academy, a new nonprofit dedicated to inspiring, equipping, and mentoring Black youth, has been exploring the theme of Ubuntu this year. Since September, students have been borrowing our cameras and learning from CultureWorks photography instructor and Board President Jack Burk how to take photos that highlight their personal experience of Ubuntu in our community. These photos will be exhibited at the Holland Area Arts Council March 14-31, with an adult reception on March 18 from 5:30-7:30 and a community reception on March 19 from 10:00-2:00. The exhibit will also display monoprints made by I Am Academy students at 2 workshops at CultureWorks. In our first session, we explored layers of color through screenprinting and a bit of relief printing, inspired by the work of Delita Martin at Black Box Press.
We’re also offering a community reception with hands-on activities at CultureWorks on March 19 from 10:00-2:00, where participants can experiment with the processes used in making the artwork.
Celebrated Artist and Printmaker Delita Martin advocates for social justice through her large scale portraits, which incorporate elements of screenprinting, relief printing, drawing, and hand-stitched collage. The larger scale of her work gives weight and presence to these figures (most often Black women) whose voices and stories are largely missing or marginalized in mainstream Western culture.
In keeping with the theme of Ubuntu, roughly translated as “I am because we are”, these works by middle and high school students highlight historical and contemporary figures who’ve played a significant part in shaping who they’re becoming…by paving the way, shining a light, or lending courage through their words and actions. We’re so grateful for this community of saints, and for the community of creative souls being raised up in its wake.
