Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin, is a traveling exhibition featuring the work of Detroit-based creative, Sabrina Nelson. Curated by Ashara Ekundayo and Omo Misha, the exhibit kicked off in New York for Baldwin’s 99th birthday and traveled to the New Orleans African American Art Museum and Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, CA, before making its way to us in the heart of Chicago.
Frontline Prophet invites an exploration of Baldwin’s words, works, and legacy through a kaleidoscope of visual imagery, poetry, sound, and augmented reality in order to contemplate and manifest a liberated humanity.
BlackTerminusAR in Oakland, CA recently developed an augmented reality component to the exhibit that allows an interactive experience with selected works, bringing Baldwin and his words to life through Sabrina’s art. The exhibition continues to evolve as it travels, ultimately, to Detroit and Paris, France for Baldwin’s 100th year.
Nelson has immersed herself in the subject of Baldwin since attending “A Language to Dwell In,” a James Baldwin conference in Paris in 2016, to which she was invited by Detroit’s newly-appointed Poet Laureate, jessica care moore. There, she audited lectures and performances while creating live art throughout the conference. Sabrina began sketching Baldwin as a means of cementing her own understanding and expressing the many facets of the remarkable human she was discovering. She devoured the great writer’s speeches and books and embarked upon a year-long study that resulted in a total of 91 drawings and has since filled multiple sketchbooks with Baldwin images, ink renderings, writings, and musings, adding large-format paintings and mixed media compositions, as well as visual collaborations with poets and writers, to develop the current exhibition.
“The drawings became a way to baptize myself in the essence of Baldwin, as his words and expressions connected deeply with how I felt the world was treating its dwellers who are Black and Brown,” Nelson shared. “The words still ring true,” she added. Through this exhibition she communicates the multi-facets of James – his intellect, his humanity, his joy, his inspiration, and representations of some of those with whom he associated and inspired.
Court Theatre shares A Special Presentation by Damon Locks: Past, Present, and Future (waitlist for tickets can be accessed here)
A Black Writer’s Reading of “Giovanni’s Room” with local poets, in collaboration with Chicgao’s Poet Laureate, avery r. young (poets TBA)
Closing Reception
