The center's creation remains one of the remarkable, lasting accomplishments of the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
All events are free and all are open to the public.
However, tickets are required for the Thursday night music event at Barnes Hall and the Saturday evening banquet at the Biotechnology Building. Faith Ringgold, Amiri Baraka and Jeff Donaldson are among the notable artists and academics who will participate in discussions, readings and performances during the conference, which is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. While the conference will focus on the visual expressions of the Black Arts Movement from the 1960s to the present, that topic will serve as a springboard for dialogue on current issues related to African American and African Diaspora art and visual culture. Speakers and panelists will take a critical look at the role of art in activism and the community as viewed through the Black Arts Movement in the aftermath of the Black Power and Civil Rights movements. The museum event also includes performances by poet and playwright Baraka and poetry readings by Angela Jackson, Sonia Sanchez and Haki Mahhubuti, among others.