Past Exhibits October 2003 to Present

A Drum Beats in Brooklyn: A Photography Exhibition Celebrating the Drum-Based and African Influenced Traditions of Brooklyn

Curators: She Shootin' Photography Collective
Exhibit Dates: February 14 - May 13
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 15, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Public Perspectives Exhibition Series
Independence Community Gallery at BHS

Delphine A. Fawundu-Buford, Praises, African Ancestral, 2004, Digital Print on Canvas

Exhibition Statement
The connection between Brooklyn and other points in the African Diaspora is visceral, visual and auditory.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the African influenced and drum-based traditions that carry the spirit of the Diaspora to Brooklyn. From the Djembe to the Dumbek, the drum forms the foundation of the effort to communicate traditions of craftsmanship and musicianship through interactive and participatory celebrations that connect land to land, tradition to tradition, spirit to spirit with the drum as the conjoiner. 
A Drum Beats in Brooklyn offers a panoramic view of traditions such as J'ouvert, Drummers Grove, and Tribute to the Ancestors of the Middle Passage, among other gatherings, and shows how they are uniquely Brooklyn . From the intimate gesture to the grand declaration, the She Shootin' Photography Collective documents these celebrations that bring spectator and performer together and highlight the timeless magic of the drum.

About the curators
The She Shootin' Photography Collective consists of Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Kerika Fields, Ava Griffiths and Nsenga Knight.
Five of Brooklyn's emerging women photographers invite us into their worlds through glimpses into their growing bodies of work. From candid portraiture to street photography, the images included in A Drum Beats in Brooklyn marks personal stations of these women's photographic journeys. Individually, the artists have photographed international and exhibited in venues such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, International Center of Photography, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Museum of Contemporary Art, DC and galleries such as Latin Collector and Art Gotham; published in anthologies such as BLACK: A Celebration of a Culture and Reflections in Black , both edited by Dr. Deborah Willis and in magazines like Essence , Vibe and RollingStone .

A Drum Beats in Brooklyn has been made possible by The Lily Auchincloss Foundation.

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