A Look Back — Inside Black Culture at the Studio Museum in Harlem

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to have Tyrus Rochell Townsend from the blog I.Heart.Art and The.Noir.Arts.Gallery write this review for us. His bio states “I believe I teach and reach the masses through my words and my aura.  I love, live, become and support art.

Crystal McCrary Anthony, Nathan Hale Williams
and Veronica Webb
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Last week the Studio Museum in Harlem hosted a star-studded event that brought the very best of “Black Star Power” from Manhattan and beyond. Present were Chief Curator Thelma Golden, models Veronica Webb and Janine Green, style maven/dinner hostess Beverly Smith, Keith Boykin, real estate executive Spencer Means, Uptown Magazine publisher Jocelyn R. Taylor, Cheetah’s Girls Deborah Gregory , magazine editors and many others.

Passed around were trays of mini quiches, spinach filled pastries, shrimp drizzled with pesto sauce, lightly seared beef skewers and mini brownies for dessert all paired with flutes of different imported wines. The women were draped in designer couture and stood upon Christian Louboutins, Jimmy Choos and Brian Atwood pumps; the gentlemen were decked out in Brooks Brothers of course. This was deemed to be a great evening to end Black History Month with a bang.

Tyrus Rochell Townsend and Beverly Smith
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Using the current exhibit of Barkley L. Hendricks “Birth of Cool” as a backdrop, Producers Nathan Hale Williams and Crystal McCrary Anthony, along with members from Morgan Stanley, spoke of bringing the show, BET J’s Inside Black Culture, to light and how important it will be to the African-American community and beyond.

The Studio Museum’s Chief Curator Thelma Golden spoken eloquently and with gratitude to everyone, including the audience, to support works of arts by artists of African descent as well as artist William T. Williams who was present as well. Though technical difficulty halted the presentation momentarily, after a few minutes everyone was in awe as we were able to hear and see the legacy of black history continued.

As explained by Nathan Hale Williams, Inside Black Culture is a three-part documentary that is dedicated to showcasing the now, the present and future of the African-American community. The series features and profiles are of Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company; Studio Museum in Harlem; and one of America’s most famous black institutions of worship Abyssinian Baptist Church.

The documentary digs deep into the core of these institutions and the effects they have within the African-American community. The series, hosted by producer Crystal McCrary Anthony, features interviews with entrepreneur/hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, choreographer Judith Jamison, Ronald K. Brown and Bill T. Jones, artists Lorna Simpson and Kara Walker and Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III.

Though the preview gave us a sneak preview of the program, Hale Williams encouraged us all to tune into BET J because as he jokingly said “we need the ratings.” Check with your local cable subscriber for a listing of airing times in your area.

To see more photos of the evening, click here to visit our Flickr page.

Photography: Charlie T. Photography

Tags: bet j, Beverly Smith, Bevy smith, Bill T. Jones, calvin butts, Crystal McCrary Anthony, Deborah Gregory, Harlem, III., Janine Green, Jocelyn R. Taylor, Jocelyn Taylor, Judith Jamison, Kara Walker, Keith Boykin, Lorna Simpson, Nathan Hale Williams, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, Ronald K. Brown, Russell Simmons, Spencer Means, Studio Museum in Harlem, Thelma Golden, TV, Veronica Webb

Category: Art, Harlem News, Museums / Galleries, TV