The Academy Art Museum and the Frederick Douglass Honor Society are hosting the 5th annual Juneteenth Celebration on Friday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Celebrating Our Heritage in Art and Stories.”
Ruth Starr Rose, Elizabeth Moaney in Profile with Basket of Fruit, 1930.
Juneteenth, one of the most important African American holidays in the country, marks the abolition of slavery. The Celebration will commemorate Emancipation Day, celebrate the significant contributions of African Americans in our country, and reflect on the common values that we share as a community.
This year’s program will include a variety of free events. First, the exhibition, Ruth Starr Rose (1887 – 1965): Revelations of African American Life in Maryland and the World, will be on view in the Waterfowl Building in Easton throughout the Juneteenth Celebration. This comprehensive exhibition offers a rare glimpse into African American life at the turn of the century on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Many of the subjects are descendants of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Ross Tubman. Second, the exhibition, Ernie Satchell: A Few of MY Favorite Things (June 17 – August 7, 2016) features the ceramics of artist Ernest Satchell, a native of the Eastern Shore and retired professor from UMES. Finally, on Saturday there will be a keynote talk by Carole Boston Weatherford, Professor and Director of the Professional Writing Program at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC, and author of the award winning children’s book, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom.
Other activities include the acknowledgement of 2016 Juneteenth Honorees Jeffery Moaney, Barbara Paca, and St. Matthew United Methodist Church, as well as performances by local church choirs, art projects for children and families, craft displays, food, and a knowledge village in the block of South Street between the Museum and the Waterfowl Building.
The program is free and open to the entire community. For further information, visit academyartmuseum.org or call 410-822-2787.
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