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Hundreds Celebrate Kwanzaa Fest in Durham

DURHAM- Hundreds of people celebrate the last day of Kwanzaa in Durham.

The annual Kwanzaafest kicked off Friday morning at the Durham Armory.

Dancers from the African American Dance ensemble as well as various other dance groups performed as they honored African culture.

The last day of Kwanzaa is called " Imani" which means faith.

Mural Dedication commemortes civil rights, community involvement

More than 100 community members came together Saturday morning (Oct. 17) at the dedication ceremony for a 2,400 square foot mural commemorating Durham’s civil rights leaders.

Muralist Brenda Miller Holmes directed the public art project, titled “We Must Remember And Continue To Tell,” a quote fromCharmaine McKissick-Melton, associate professor at North Carolina Central University. Multiple family members of McKissick-Melton’s are featured in the mural, which is located next to the Durham Arts Council at 110 Morris St.

“One thing I learned working on this project is Durham shows up,” said Holmes in reference to both the event’s turnout and the community’s involvement in the project as a whole.

Workshop Teaches dance and healthy living

Living healthy, eating right and checking your blood pressure is the focus of high-energy dance classes every week at W.D. Hill Recreation Center.

The classes are part of a free workshop organized by the African-American Dance Ensemble every Wednesday evening.

The workshop offers free weight checks and blood pressure monitoring, as well as breathing and stretching exercises. Then it’s time to get down to work with choreographer McDaniel Roberts.

Our Favorite Photos from 2015

The African American Dance Ensemble commands the stage at CenterFest Arts Festival, September 19-20. The annual Downtown Durham festival includes live entertainment, a visual arts showcase, and hands-on crafts.

Durham Arts Council Announces the
2016 Emerging Artists Grants

(Durham, NC) The Durham Arts Council is pleased to announce the 2016 recipients of the Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists Grants. The Emerging Artists Grants are career development project grants intended to assist artists in all art forms to take the next step in developing their artistic careers.

112 applications were submitted for the 2016 grant cycle and 16 applications were awarded grants. Three levels of review involving 40 individuals evaluate the applications by three criteria: the strength of the work sample, the feasibility of the proposed project and the impact of the project on the artist's career development. The recipients will be honored at the Annual Awards Ceremony on March 31, 2016, at the Durham Arts Council.

This year's recipients are: Belle Boggs, literature; Ashley Brooke Heuts, craft; Shelia Huggins, photography; Anna Kipervaser, film/video; Nsenga Knight, painting; Aaron Kutnick, installation; Karen Novy, music; Chris Ogden, photography; Steve Oliva, prints; Adebukola Oni, drama; McDaniel Roberts, dance; Monica Sanchez, literature; Albert Strong IV, music; William Paul Thomas, film/video; Allison Tierney, painting; Justin Tornow, dance.

The Emerging Artists Grant Program is administered by the Durham Arts Council coordinating with the local arts agencies in the partner counties: Orange County Arts Commission, Chatham Arts Council, Person County Arts Council and the Granville Education Foundation.

The first grant program in North Carolina dedicated to artists' career development, the Emerging Artists Program has awarded 500 grants totaling $553,456 to artists such as jazz vocalists Nnenna Freelon and Lois Deloatch, installation artist Bryant Holsenbeck, photographer Roger Manley, painters Beverly McIver and Jacob Cooley, sculptor Francis Vega, and violinist Nicholas Kitchen.

"The Durham Arts Council is proud to continue the support of individual artists through the Emerging Artists Grant program, which it helped to pilot in 1984. So many of these artists go on to significant artistic achievements and credit the Emerging Artists Grant as a key endorsement that opened doors for them to new opportunities," commented Sherry DeVries, Executive Director of the Durham Arts Council.

Launched in 1984, the brainchild of Dr. James H. Semans and Mary D.B.T. Semans, Ella Fountain Pratt, the N.C. Arts Council and Michael Marsicano, then Executive Director of the Durham Arts Council, the Emerging Artists Program believes in recognizing artists as they grow, rather than after a life-time of achievement.

The program is funded by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the Durham Arts Council Annual Fund, the partner county agencies and contributions from individual donors.

The award made to McDaniel Roberts in dance is sponsored by the Anika James Foundation, which supports emerging artists in the performing arts. For more information contact Margaret DeMott, Director of Artist Services, atmdemott@durhamarts.org or 919-560-2720.

McDaniel Roberts Community Project

Over the past 30 years, McDaniel Roberts has dedicated his time and energy to sharing the art of West African dance, music, and culture through teaching and mentoring those in the Raleigh-Durham area (see pictures). These activities include providing free community classes, instructing college students at North Carolina Central University and Duke, and performing at various local schools and community events.