Found Treasures (There is no place like home) Art Exhibition February 2014 African American Performing Arts Center Featuring Franklin Robinson Jr., Memphis Tennessee New Mexico Artists - TBD
The 3rd Annual New Mexico Black History Month Festival is proposing to mount an art exhibit featuring Frank D. Robinson Jr. from Memphis, Tennessee alongside invited New Mexico artists . The exhibit will feature Robinson’s recycle art (found treasures) and to-be determined pieces from New Mexico artists that will assist in advancing the theme for the Arts and Culture Week of the festival. The goal of the festival is to preserve African American arts and culture and heritage and the week ‘s theme will be “There’s No Place Like Home” . The theater production will be the hit Broadway musical, the Wiz and the art exhibit will tie in with some of the important themes in The Wiz, like placing value on things that others have discarded, honoring home and looking for the silver lining in every situation. Arts and Culture Week will consist of schooltime performances and tours of the gallery in addition to 3 public performances. February 5 – 9, 2014 are the proposed dates of the festival. The official opening night for The Wiz and the exhibit will be Friday, February 7, 2014.
Artist Frank D. Robinson Frank D. Robinson Jr. is a Memphis native, obtaining his BFA from the University of Memphis before completing his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was also active in the noted summer youth-mural program led by George Hunt and Charles Davis locally in the early 1980's, and was later a member of the NIA artist's collective. A prolific painter, he is the artist-in-residence at Caritas Village where he teaches classes. Robinson describes himself as a 'recyclist', able to turn anything he finds into art. His signature work demonstrates his mixed media collage method and socially motivated approach to art making. While working at a charter school , he would find garbage in the parking lot when he arrived each morning. He decided to make art from what would normally be discarded, teaching the children to transform bad situations into positive experiences by "turning trash into treasure."