by Tyler McDermott, Contributing WriterColumbia’s Office of Multicultural Affairs kicked off African-American Heritage Month Feb. 1 with a reception to mark the approaching close of its long-running art exhibit “Black Gossamer,” though the exhibit did not formally shut down until Feb. 11.The exhibit, which premiered in November 2011 at the Glass Curtain Gallery in the Conway Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., celebrated African-American and Caribbean culture, featuring artwork and installations from world-renowned artists such as Myra Greene and Ebony G. Patterson.Guests at the reception were invited to enjoy a light dinner and peruse the gallery before listening to a lecture on the connection between art and fashion by Afro-futurist artist and Columbia faculty member D. Denenge Akpem.Those who attended the closing ceremony said they were looking forward to what Columbia and the Office of Multicultural Affairs will offer for the remaining weeks of African-American Heritage Month.“I can’t wait to see the up-and-coming events that are going on for this month,” said Emmanuel Bansa, senior Film and Video student. “I feel like they’re going to be very fruitful. It’s a great start.”Kimberley Weatherly, director of African-American Cultural Affairs, promised there will be many more events from Multicultural Affairs this month.“We try to invite guests who speak to our mission and [our] different academic departments, since we’re [a] fine, visual, and performing arts [college],” Weatherly said. “We will just get different people to cover the different majors. So you may have someone one year from theatre, film, television and radio. The next year we may be fortunate to get someone from animation and design, or journalism.”Columbia emphasized its inclusiveness Feb. 2 when the Office of African-American Cultural Affairs teamed up with the Office of Asian-American Cultural Affairs to host a “Lunar New Year Celebration” featuring celebrity vegan chef Bryant Terry.“We try to add something new every year,” Weatherly said. “This year, we did something different with Lunar New Year. We try to collaborate with different departments because it’s important that we not only celebrate our culture, but other people are able to celebrate as well.”R & B songstress Angie Stone, writer Sam Greenlee, journalist Mary Mitchell and many more will be hitting the campus in the coming weeks.“It’s not about, ‘You’re not black any other month,’” Weatherly said. “It’s an opportunity for people to really focus in and learn history, and for the majority to celebrate all the different cultures [and] focus on what we have and be thankful, and to expose people to another culture.”Upcoming African-American heritage events: Cultural Journey: Mary Mitchell, Journalist from Chicago Sun-Times. Tuesday, Feb. 15; Afro Blue: Blowout, Feb. 21; From Colonial to National Times: Spooks, Censors; and Sam Greenlee: The Spook who sat by the Door, Feb. 23; An Afternoon with Neo-Soul Artist Angie Stone, Feb. 28; Black Like Us: Celebrating Our Musical Heritage, Feb. 29. For locations, times and additional events, visit the event listings at Colum.edu.
