Carmen Beals, Nevada Museum of Art Associate Curator and Outreach Director in Las Vegas, curated this exhibition, which documents the life and influence of Hughes (1901-1967), the American author and activist who was one of the leaders of the Harlem Renaissance.
The exhibition occupies four galleries. The first deals with his travels to Nevada in 1932. According to Beals, 'he documents pretty much every day of how he played in Reno, going to Echo Lake, visiting Virginia City, hanging out with the Dixie Jubilee Quartet … and then he actually produces two short stories which are informed by his time in Reno.'
'The second gallery,' said Beals, 'is about the Harlem Renaissance and his influence on that movement.' Works by artists who had connections with Hughes, including Augusta Savage, Beauford Delaney, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, and Archibald J. Motley, Jr. are featured.
'The third gallery is the beginning of his legacy,' Beals continued, 'and the fourth gallery is a response to his poetic works,' with pieces by Isaac Julien, Kwame Brathwaite, Deborah Willis, PhD., and Gordon Parks, among others, each paired to a poem by Hughes.
Beals wants those who see the exhibition 'to see how prolific he was … a lot of the music that we listen to today, especially rap music, really started with him pairing rhythm with poetry. He used his beautiful writing to fight for equality for people of color.'
nevadaart.org for more information.
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Support for 'Arts on the Airwaves' comes from The Nevada Arts Council… a state agency that provides public funding and support to artists and organizations, that benefit Nevadans in cities and rural communities statewide. More at NVArtsCouncil.org.
