Resolution 140919

..Title Recognizing and supporting the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Exhibit: Represent: 200 Years of African American Art. ..Body WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Museum of Art Exhibit: Represent: 200 Years of African American Art will highlight the Museum's longstanding collection of works by African American artists; and WHEREAS, With work by renowned artists of African descent active from the early nineteenth century to today, the exhibition showcases a range of subjects, styles, media and traditions; and WHEREAS, From the unique stories told to the creative methods used, Represent explores the myriad and changing ways that African American artists have expressed personal, political and racial identity through art; and WHEREAS, The exhibition begins with rare examples of fine and decorative arts made before the Civil War by both free and enslaved African Americans; and WHEREAS, As access to artistic training and other opportunities increased, the relationship between creative expression and African American identity grew more complex, nuanced and individualized; and WHEREAS, In the early twentieth century, many African American artists embraced a spirit of modern times by representing personal experiences or scenes of daily life in vibrant colors and dynamic compositions; and WHEREAS, The exhibition ends by uniting these time periods with an in-depth look at portraits of family, friends, strangers and historical icons made by several generations of African American artists; and WHEREAS, Represent accompanies a major catalogue of the Museum's African American collections, edited by Gwendolyn DuBois, Associate Professor of American Art at the University of Pennsylvania; and WHEREAS, The exhibition will also be accompanied by a full range of pubic programs and educational resources such as gallery talks, lectures, school group tours and a teacher resource guide, family programs, collaborative programming with local community groups and web content to reach audiences both within and outside of the Museum's walls; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and support the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Exhibit: Represent: 200 Years of African American Art. FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body. Blondell Reynolds Brown Councilwoman At-Large November, 13th 2014