2 minute read
ON EXHIBIT
Realizing a Dream
Palm Coast’s African American Cultural Society hosts the Smithsonian Institution’s Water/Ways exhibit.
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A river steamboat on Lake Ocklawaha, Florida.
With the theme “River to River: From the Nile to the St. Johns,” artists, speakers, poets and performers at the African American Cultural Society in Palm Coast will explore the ties between Florida’s African American history and the world’s most precious resource: water.
The programming is part of Water/Ways, a Museum on Main Street traveling exhibit presented by the Smithsonian Institution and Florida Humanities. The exhibit has traveled in Florida since June 2021. The AACS is its final stop.
Hosting a Smithsonian exhibit, says Meshella Woods, curator at AACS, is a turning point for the museum, which in 2021 celebrated its 30th anniversary.
“We’re realizing our dreams,” she says.
The cultural society started as a group of Black scholars and artists who had moved from New York to the east coast of Florida in the 1980s. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, they gathered in each other’s homes to talk about African American culture, history and current events. In 1991, they incorporated and invested in a building where they could hold larger gatherings. Founding members included Walter Morris, who in 1944 was one of the U.S. Army’s first Black paratroopers, and Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress.
Today the AACS has about 450 members. “Our founders intended for this to be a culture center and museum,” Woods says. “The fact that we’re doing this Water/Ways exhibit is magical.” —Janet Scherberger
The Water/Ways exhibit is on view at the African American Cultural Society in Palm Coast July 9-Sept. 3. aacspalmcoast.org
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