Tag Archives: CLT

Come Chill at Jazzy

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keep cool screenshot

For 43 years, the Gantt Center has kept cool. 

Preserving and presenting facets of Blackness has remained central to its mission.

From the mystic coolness of West African civilizations,

to the emergence of cool jazz in the Forties,

to that elusive cool exuded in attitude, looks, strides, speech and ways of being . . .

Remarkably, the best of African American art and culture has come to characterize coolness. As designer Christian LaCroix astutely observed:

…the history of cool in America is the history of African American culture.

This sums up my organizing concept that will shape this year’s JAZZY HOLIDAY GALA. Six months from now at Jazzy 2017, the Gantt Center will celebrate the ineffable style and aesthetic known as Black Cool. 

An elegant black-tie gala, Jazzy 2017 will take place on Saturday, December 2 in the expansive Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center. This is the 37th year of Jazzy, the Gantt Center’s signature fundraising event and Charlotte’s not-to-be-missed holiday tradition.

Jazzy 2017 is on track to become the Gantt Center’s largest gala ever, attracting as many as 1,000 guests. The gala generates crucial dollars to advance the Gantt Center’s mission, which keeps African American art, culture and history alive and thriving in Charlotte.

At 6:00 pm, Jazzy will kick off with a festive cocktail reception. Fun and fellowship continue with dinner and wine, award presentations, impact stories, opportunities to give, live entertainment and dancing. Individual seats are $250. A range of sponsorships and benefits is available to corporations, small businesses and individuals. Learn more at ganttcenter.org.

 2017 Spirit of the Center Award Recipients

Ferguson Chambers & Sumter | esteemed Charlotte-based law firm which has earned an international reputation for affirming civil rights

Charles Farrar | Charlotte’s world-class artisan who through woodturning produces finely crafted bowls and vases, prized by museums and art collectors

Philip Freelon | renowned architect of the Gantt Center and numerous cultural institutions, most recently the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture 

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture presents, preserves and celebrates excellence in the art, history and culture of African-Americans and people of African descent. Come chill at Jazzy and invest in our collective future with your support of the Gantt Center. 

I’m excited, once again, to play a part in envisioning and organizing one of Charlotte’s most important, hot-ticket events. Take a look Jazzy last year and the year before last and the one before that and before that!

— VF

Morning in Charlotte

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The feeling reminds me of the morning following a huge snow or ice storm.

Grogginess lingering after a late, late night of watching news reports, assessing the “forecasts,” tracking accounts of heightening treacherousness via social media, and peeking from windows to see whether “it” has arrived in your area yet. Businesses closed. Events canceled. Continuous conference calls since everyone is working from home. Cooped inside. Eating peanut butter. Clutching hot drinks. And wondering if the worst has ended.

The snow meant for them

Soul-Full Synchronicity

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TSOP exhibit pic at NCSU

Portland, Oregon is a city I’ve yet to visit (with the exception of a airport stop en route to Thailand years ago, but that doesn’t really count and I digress). Until recently it was completely off my radar. But over the last few months it’s been like a magnetic field, pulling me and dynamic, creative minds in proximity.

Last year, while working on a project with artist and designer Dimeji Onafuwa (a longtime collaborator with me AND graphic designer of my book and exhibit), he said his family was relocating to Portland. Surprised, I pressed him to tell me about Portland and its appeal. Dimeji spoke fondly of the civic culture, scenery and opportunities. He offered to host me if I ever found myself in the Northwest. 

digital display_VFThen weeks later, while working on a project with artist and designer Marcus Kiser (also a longtime collaborator), he was excited to share that his exhibit, Intergalactic Soul, might have a showing in Portland. Marcus’s art exhibit brings together science fiction and social awareness—imagination x consciousness. He asked about my experiences with a touring exhibit, and I shared some vendors and wisdom gained from The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited.

Within days of that conversation, an inquiry about “The Soul of Philanthropy” arrived from Portland’s MRG Foundation—a philanthropic institution working for social change in Oregon communities for 40 years. A few days after that, a second Oregon foundation called about hosting my exhibit in Portland. [cue theme music from The Twilight Zone] “Whoa…what’s up with this reoccurring Portland thing,” I mused.

To cut to the chase: It’s now March and last month Marcus, along with artist Jason Woodberry and performer Quentin Talley (who’s another super-longtime collaborator and whose poetry is featured in The Soul of Philanthropy) traveled to Portland for an “Intergalactic Soul” exhibition at Portland Community College, in conjunction with a panel discussion and performance. “The Soul of Philanthropy,” pop-up edition, will be hosted by MRG Foundation and community partners in August—Black Philanthropy Month. Together, MRG Foundation and The Oregon Community Foundation will then host the comprehensive version of “The Soul of Philanthropy” with community-wide programming for three months, starting in January 2017. Whoa, indeed.

We’re picturing social change.

— VF

Schooled.

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“Do not be fooled into believing that because a man is rich he is necessarily smart. There is ample proof to the contrary.”

— Julius Rosenwald

rosenwald

One of the most intriguing stories of transformational ‪philanthropy‬ from the 20th century centers on the South’s Rosenwald Schools. A new documentary tells the story of how  Sears President Julius Rosenwald, influenced by the writings of Booker T. Washington, joined forces with African American communities during the Jim Crow era to build over 5,300 schools. 

Today in Charlotte, documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner will attend film screenings on at Regal Ballantyne Village Stadium 5, with Q&A sessions at 1:10 PM and at 4:00 PM.

Rosenwald’s initiative to create schools throughout the American rural South, resulted in the education and progress of generations of Black Americans. His story can offer lessons for the field of philanthropy and philanthropists today. Being the philanthro-geek that I am, I cannot wait to see this film!

READ MORE.

Proclaimed!

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The Honorable Daniel Clodfelter, Mayor of Charlotte, has proclaimed August 2014 as Black Philanthropy Month!

At Tuesday’s BPM 2014 :: Forum For Civic Leadership, City Councilman David Howard opened the event by reading the City of Charlotte’s proclamation. And I’m proud to share it with you. If the version below proves illegible, you can also access it via this link: City of Charlotte BPM Proclamation.

Though not a public official, I’ll seize the occasion to call upon ALL public officials; givers of the luminary and everyday variety; professionals and volunteers from the philanthropic and nonprofit realm; faith-based congregants; the young and the forever young-hearted; and all the people of Charlotte and beyond:

  • To observe this month,
  • To celebrate the cultural richness and philanthropic spirit of our community, and
  • To recognize the vital role generosity plays in ensuring a healthy, safe and prosperous community in which to live, work and flourish.

BPM 2014 Proclamation

Black Philanthropy Month. August…and giving augustly, year-round!