By Amy Via
On a chilly, recent Friday evening rhythmic beats emanated from the Scott House on West Franklin Street.
Inside, musicians Olumide Gilbert and the Alkebulan Ensemble performed on African drums while visitors chatted and ate hors d’ourves.
It was the opening reception for Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art, featuring the Bernard and Patricia Wagner Collection, and The Beaded Prayers Project.
These exhibitions are on view in the Anderson Gallery at 907 ½ W. Franklin St. The first showcases mixed-media artwork from the Yoruba, an ancient and spiritual culture from Africa. The second consists of thousands of small, sealed packets, each one having the individual artist’s hope or prayer inside.
Professor Sonya Clark, chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Craft Department, is the creative mind behind the Beaded Prayers Project.
Clark was inspired by a desire to do something different from her regular studio practice, which she describes as slow and solitary.
“This helped me get out into the community and helped me learn from other people,” said Clark.
She took a year off from teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received funding from the university to pursue her project.
Clark taught friends how to make the packets, which are usually composed of cloth with beaded embroidery, then sealed with a piece of paper inside. The paper contains a prayer or dream for the future. Some artists choose to make their packets entirely out of beads, and the resulting shapes can range from square to circular to triangular.
After establishing a web site so people could mail their artwork to Clark, she had enough material to build a show.
Since the project’s launch in 1998, 5,000 artists between the ages of 6 and 90 from 35 countries have participated.
“Collectively this is something much larger than me,” said Clark, who describes herself as the caretaker of the artwork, more so than the curator.
Clark describes the response to the show as “overwhelmingly phenomenal. I once said, that it will be the last show, and now 10 years later there’s still interest.”
At the gallery, student workers Melissa Dishman and Kelly Hart found a special connection to the Beaded Prayers Project.
“It’s so colorful, so cool to look at. I’m still seeing new things each time,” said Hart.
Dishman, a VCU student majoring in elementary education, helped install the exhibition.
“There’s so much feeling behind each piece,” said Dishman.
Ashley Kistler, Anderson Gallery Director, explains that this is an ideal opportunity to view African artwork since the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has closed many of their exhibits.
“It was a great opportunity to get a first-class African art exhibition here,” said Kistler. Dr. Babatunde Lawal, a VCU art history professor, was also involved in bringing the Yoruba Art exhibition to the Anderson Gallery.
Traci Flores, gallery coordinator and collections specialist, expects a positive response from the exhibitions because “people are very fascinated with African art and culture.”
The exhibitions will be showing at the gallery through March 1.
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