WOKE DREAMS, a free event, features live art-making by Jose Cotto and Les Femmes Feroces, panel discussions with community leaders, a curated DJ set by Raj Smoove, and complimentary admission to CAC galleries featuring works by Mickalene Thomas, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Meg Turner and more
NEW ORLEANS - January 7, 2020: The Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (CAC) and The Helis Foundation will present WOKE DREAMS, a reflective celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020 from 12 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the CAC, located at 900 Camp Street. The event and admission to the CAC that day is free and open to the public, courtesy of The Helis Foundation.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 91st birthday, WOKE DREAMS will explore Dr. King’s legacy, today’s social movements, and the role that art plays in advancing activism and social justice. Through a variety of interactive experiences, guests are invited to reflect upon and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy. Activities include artist Jose Cotto’s cultivating history, documenting dreams project to capture intimate one-on-one portraits of individuals and their dreams; a memorial altar installation by Jet Costello and resident art collective Les Femmes Féroces to honor murdered Trans women from across the country; “When Oppressed, Knowledge Endures: WOKE,” a curated set by DJ Raj Smoove; and a multi-generational and multi-disciplinary panel discussion exploring the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on today’s civic activism. Panelists will include, Alanah Odoms Hebert, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana; Ranord J. Darensburg, Judicial Administrator of the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court; Stephanie McKee- Anderson, Executive Director of Junebug Productions; Kathy Randells, Founder and Creative Director of ArtSpot Productions; and Dr. David W. Robinson-Morris, Founding Director of The Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit at Xavier University of Louisiana. For complete panelist bios, click here.
“WOKE DREAMS offers an expressive experience created by today's social and political activists that were shaped by Dr. King's most radical dream,” said George Scheer, Executive Director of the CAC.
WOKE DREAMS is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged at cacno.org/wokedreams. Courtesy of The Helis Foundation, the CAC will also offer complimentary admission to its visual arts exhibitions, featuring works by Mickalene Thomas, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Meg Turner, art collective Les Femmes Féroces, and others. For more information visit cacno.org.
WHO: The General Public is invited to a free event at Contemporary Arts Center
WHAT: WOKE DREAMS is an event featuring a live art-making by Jose Cotto and Les Femmes Feroces, panel discussions with community leaders, a curated DJ set by Raj Smoove, and complimentary admission to CAC galleries featuring works by Mickalene Thomas, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Meg Turner and more.
The event and admission to the CAC that day is free and open to the public, courtesy of The Helis Foundation.
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 20, 2020
12 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans
900 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
About the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
The CAC is a multidisciplinary arts center that is dedicated to the presentation, production, and promotion of the art of our time. As a cultural leader, it organizes, presents, and tours curated exhibitions, performances and programs by local, regional, national, and international artists. It demonstrates proactive local and regional leadership by educating children and adults, cultivating and growing audiences, and initiating and encouraging collaboration among diverse artists, institutions, communities, and supporters.
About The Helis Foundation
The Helis Foundation is a Louisiana private foundation, established and funded by the William Helis Family with a mission of advancing access to the arts and continuing a family legacy of philanthropic support to the New Orleans community.
The Helis Foundation makes grants to sustain operations, to provide free admission to, and to acquire significant art works on behalf of major institutions within the Metropolitan New Orleans area. The Art Funds also underwrite major initiatives and special projects, such as Prospect.3’s Basquiat and the Bayou presented by The Helis Foundation, the ongoing Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition presented by The Helis Foundation, the installation of Lynda Benglis’ The Wave of the World in City Park, The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden, Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection presented by The Helis Foundation organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Tricentennial Exhibition, Art of the City: Post Modern to Post Katrina. Visit thehelisfoundation.org to learn more.
MEDIA CONTACT
Laura B. Tennyson
Associate Director of External Affairs
Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans