Newport Art Museum – Saturday, February 13, 2:00 pm (EST)

Romare Bearden: Artist of the African-American Experience

Diedra Harris-Kelley, artist, educator, and co-director of the Romare Bearden Foundation will introduce us to the multi-dimensional career of visual artist Romare Bearden. Best known for innovative collages depicting scenes of African American life and culture, his paintings are replete with references to music, literature, religion, and classical artistic periods.

An often-repeated quote by Bearden instructs “An artist needs to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.” It was this reservoir of experience and knowledge that made Bearden’s art so complex. Bearden was born in North Carolina in 1911, but was primarily raised in a Harlem pulsing with the unmistakable energy of the Harlem Renaissance. His efforts as an activist, author, educator, baseball player, armed serviceman, song writer, and social case worker, provided him with rich sources of inspiration and access to a myriad of perspectives, all of which influenced and impacted his creative work.

The lecture will be followed by audience Q&A with Diedra Harris-Kelley via Zoom chat.

This program is not in conjunction with an exhibition.

Admission $15.00;  Subscribe to the Series & enjoy one lecture free.

Purchase tickets here: https://newportartmuseum.org/events/wss-2021-harris-kelley/