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Published 03/05/2020 | Reading Time 1 min 49 sec
TULSA, Okla. — Dr. Ricco Wright, owner and curator, Kiandra Call, operations strategist, and Amandela Perry, creative director, detailed the featured art and entertainment that will be part of the second series in a four-part sequence called socioracial idealism that began with The Conciliation Series in September 2018. The Healing Series comes at a time when Tulsa is facing the potential excavation of mass graves believed to be connected to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
“We’re thrilled to be in the middle of a significant period of growth and expansion of Black Wall Street,” said Wright. “In addition to featured artwork by amazing black artists that we’ve selected through personal relationships or found through reputation and following, we’re increasing our merchandise by phasing in vinyl records, prints, and a wider range of logo apparel. We’ll also feature entertainment through comedy shows and live performances and will offer the space for community and private gatherings.”
The new gallery will open to the public at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 6, as part of the Tulsa Arts District First Friday Art Crawl. The first installment in The Healing Series will be “Blacklahoma” by Shannon Nicole of Oklahoma City. The showing of all original art, which will be available for sale, continues until midnight as part of the opening celebration and art crawl.
Other community events at the gallery will focus on healing leading up to the centennial anniversary of the race massacre, which will honor, mourn and commemorate the ancestors and families responsible for the flourishing businesses and investments that made up Black Wall Street in the time of Jim Crow segregation laws. The Greenwood District is poised for success in black entrepreneurship and ownership.
“The gallery became the heart of Greenwood where we effortlessly built a new, diverse community through art exhibits, music, and friendships,” Wright continued. “That spirit lives on as we renew our commitment to strengthen the community in our new location where we’ll have more opportunities for meaningful discussions, workshops, entertainment, and making history. We remember our past, honor our legacies, and celebrate our future together, through conciliation and healing which leads to unity and love — the latter two being the final parts of the four-part sequence.”
The Healing Series, running March through August 2020, will feature mostly regional artists. The Unity Series will run September 2020 through January 2021 and will feature mostly national artists. The final exhibition of the sequence, running February through June 2021, will be The Love Series and will feature mostly international artists.
The complete lineup for The Healing Series is as follows:
March 6-31
“Blacklahoma” by Shannon Nicole
April 3-26
“Madame X Josephine” by Charica Daughtery
May 1-31
“Black Wall Street Forever” by Eddye K Allen
June 5-30
“Still Swingin’ Low” by Theresa Cates
July 3-31
“Divisionism: The Souls of Black Folk Experience” by Errin Whitaker
August 7-31
“Exhaustions of a Mirror” by Frankie Zombie