Nelson Mandela, John Coltrane and a Cincinnati Evening at The Banks
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jamie Glavic
(513) 333-7511
(513) 802-7355
jglavic@nurfc.org
Evan Sikes
(513) 549-7175
evansikes@constellafestival.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CINCINNATI, OH (February 17, 2017) – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has partnered with Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts for a Cincinnati Evening at The Banks. The evening includes the exhibition opening reception for Mandela: The Journey To Ubuntu and Luminous Dance on Friday, March 24, 2017.
Mandela: The Journey To Ubuntu, a world-premiere exhibition, commemorates the life and legacy of former South African President Nelson Mandela through photographs by Matthew Willman as he revisited many of the locations that had played an important role in South Africa’s route to racial equality and Mandela’s personal fight for freedom. The exhibition opening reception begins at 5:00 p.m. and offers timed tours until 7:00 p.m. South African documentary photographer Matthew William will speak at 7:15 p.m. The exhibition opening reception includes light appetizers, wine and beer and will run from 5-8:00 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online for $25. Discounted tickets are available to students for $10. Seating is limited. Mandela: The Journey To Ubuntu is sponsored by John and Francie Pepper, Macy’s, and ArtsWave.
Following the exhibition opening reception, Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and MamLuft&Co., presents two new world-premiere contemporary dance performances at Luminous Dance at 8:00 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Theater. One of the performances, inspired by John Coltrane's masterpiece "Spiritual," engages historic African American folklore, with themes of ritual, loss, joy and power. Intermedia in nature, the dancers embark on a contemporary migration of the spirit through time as paced by Coltrane's wonderfully complex composition. The evening also features the visual art of Saad Ghosn, a Cincinnati native and well-known local artist who frequently utilizes the theme of social justice in his work. Tickets are available for purchase online for $25. Discounted tickets are available to students for $10. Seating is limited.
The evening will culminate with an after-party at Taste of Belgium at The Banks.
"Photography, dance and art have each played a pivotal role in communicating the realities of struggle and hope throughout history. This partnership with the Constella Festival offers those in attendance to continue the conversation of embracing our common humanity through a world-premiere exhibition experience and two world-premiere dance performances," says Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, President of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. "I hope you will join us for a Cincinnati Evening at The Banks."
"Constella's 2017 Luminous Dance is more exciting than ever," says Tatiana Berman, Artistic Director of Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts. "The audience will experience contrasting world-premiere performances at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center from the Mamluft & Co and DCDC, including two new choreography works with live music and video projections."
Tickets are available online at freedomcenter.org and constellaarts.org for each Cincinnati Evening at The Banks event at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in August 2004 on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have visited its permanent and changing exhibits and public programs, inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom. Two million people have utilized educational resources online at freedomcenter.org, working to connect the lessons of the Underground Railroad to inform and inspire today’s global and local fight for freedom. Partnerships include Historians Against Slavery, Polaris Project, Free the Slaves, US Department of State and International Justice Mission. In 2014, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center launched a new online resource in the fight against modern slavery, endslaverynow.org.