From staff reports
USC Beaufort’s Center for the Arts will host a reception at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19 to formally open its newest exhibit – Black Mermaids From Africa to America.
Curated by Cookie Washington, the show features bold and colorful works by award winning artists that explore and bring to life, the spirituality and folklore of the Merworld. The vision and voices of the artists tell the stories of Black mermaid archetypes using fiber, textiles, and mixed media.
“After seeing the show in Charleston where it premiered at the City Gallery, I knew we had to bring the exhibit to Beaufort to share with our community.” says Bonnie Hargrove, Director of the Center for the Arts.
In addition to the reception event, there will be an artisans fair and documentary films screening from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20; guided viewings with the curator from noon to 3 p.m., Tuesday, Feb.: and a special water blessing closing event from 5 to 7 p.m., on International Mermaid Day, Friday, March.
The exhibit and all events will be hosted at the Center for the Arts and are free and open to everyone.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/424hsrC or call USCB Center for the Arts at 843-521-4145
About the exhibit
People around the world celebrate black mermaids, but in South Carolina, Cookie Washington does that every day. Washington is an artist, curator and folklorist who recently led a sold-out art quilting presentation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. She has long been drawn to and inspired by the rich folklore and historic significance of black mermaid mythologies.
The exhibit features the work of dozens of esteemed and award-winning fiber artists from across the United States, whose mixed-media works celebrate African goddesses as mermaid and water spirit, honoring the past and exploring them anew. The show’s theme contextualizes black mermaids through the history and belief systems of those forcibly removed from Africa and carried across the ocean.
“Black mermaids traveled with enslaved Africans from Yoruba, West Africa, to distant lands, comforting them in the holds of the slave ships that took them far away from their homeland in Africa,” Washington said. “Because of the rich oral traditions of these peoples, few if any of these stories were written down until they were recorded by collectors of folk tales toward the end of the 19th century. The fine artistry in Celebrating Black Mermaids: From Africa to America is griot in nature. Each piece is a storyteller, using color, texture, form and embellishment to express a narrative.”
For a list of other activities planned with Mermaid exhibit, visit uscbcenterforthearts.com.
Want To Go?
What: Black Mermaids From Africa to America art exhibit
Where: USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret Street, Beaufort
When: Friday, Jan. 19 through Friday, March 29
Cost: Free and open to the public
