SEWICKLEY − Sweetwater Center for The Arts celebrates Black artists from the community in the annual Mavuno festival, opening Friday.
The Sewickley center’s display of art and Black culture runs through Sept. 24.
The free Sept. 16 opening reception, from 6-9 p.m., includes an art exhibition featuring Pittsburgh area artists Petra Floyd, Dominick McDuffie, Zeal Eva and Darren Milliner, with a 6:30 p.m. performance by the Sub-Verses-Social-Collective poetry group.
Beaver resident Day Bracey, creator of the Barrel & Flow beer festival promoting Black-owned breweries, organized two dozen vendors for this Saturday’s portion of Mavuno, occurring from noon to 5 p.m. , at Sewickley’s Riverfront Park at 300 Chadwick St.
That free event begins with a performance by Slim Tha DJ from noon-3 p.m., and a book reading by local artist Ramon Riley at 1 p.m. Children can follow along during story time and create their own illustrations with supplies from the Sweetwater table. The book reading commemorates International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book “The Dot” on Sept. 15, 2009. “The Dot” is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark.” What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
The Saturday event continues with blues singer Miss Freddye at 4 p.m. and a special appearance by Manchester Craftsman Guild to share information about its art programming.
“It’s been an honor and pleasure to work with Sweetwater to highlight Black artists and entrepreneurs in the area by providing a platform for folks to discover their work,” Bracey said in a press release. “All communities and organizations are stronger through the various skills, knowledge, and resources diversity offers. Hopefully, Sewickley and her surrounding communities will see those advantages at this event and continue to support Sweetwater and marginalized communities year-round.”
