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For Immediate Release:
December 10, 2019

Media Contact:
Griselle Marino
[email protected]
305-297-3139



Elizabeth Catlett: The Future of Equality a 35-Year Retrospective Art Exhibit Now Open


Elizabeth Catlett art exhibit  The Black Affairs Advisory Board, under the Office of Community Advocacy, celebrated the grand opening of the Elizabeth Catlett art exhibit titled The Future of Equality, A 35-Year Retrospective, on Dec. 6. 

MIAMI – The Black Affairs Advisory Board, under the Office of Community Advocacy, celebrated the grand opening of the Elizabeth Catlett art exhibit titled The Future of Equality, A 35-Year Retrospective, on Dec. 6. The Office of Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson participated in the evening event hosted by the Dade County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The exhibit will be on display until March 31, 2019, in the Lobby Gallery of the Miami-Dade County Public Library System’s Main Branch, 101 West Flagler Street in Downtown, Miami.

Primarily known for her sculptures, Catlett also created prints, lithographs and linocuts which feature persons ranging from Harriet Tubman to Angela Davis. This exhibition proudly includes linocut works from her series The Negro Women, 1946‑1947 from the Permanent Art Collection of the Miami‑Dade Public Library System. This series demonstrates an artistic narrative of the experience of African‑American women in the 19th and 20th centuries. First displayed by the library in 1984, this new exhibit revisits Catlett’s work, her world view, political convictions and beliefs thirty‑five years later. It also depicts her connections to Miami. The timeless quality of Catlett’s art and activism help examine what is the “future of equality” today.

Elizabeth Catlett (1915‑2012), an internationally renowned American and Mexican sculptor and artist, infused her work with her strong sense of heritage and social activism. Growing up in Washington, D.C., she was influenced as a child by her own life experiences and her grandmother’s stories of the horrors of slavery and heroism of oppressed people. As a graduate of Howard University and the first person to obtain a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa, Catlett studied under artists who encouraged her to have her art reflect her unique view of life, according to local artist Gene “Dinizulu” Tinnie and his wife Dr. Wallis Tinnie, who provided their personal experiences and interactions with the artist.

Learn more about her work in the library’s digital collection and view pictures from the opening night on Facebook. For more information, please contact Black Affairs Advisory Board Director Retha Boone-Fye at 305-375-4606.

The Office of Community Advocacy is charged with making Miami-Dade County "One Community" that embraces our diverse and unique population. Follow @AdvocacyMDC on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and the Black Advisory Board of Miami-Dade on Facebook.


 

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