Soul Basel-Hampton Art Lovers. Thank you.

Soul Basel-Hampton Art Lovers. Thank you.

November 17, 2022

HamptonArtLovers presents Point Comfort Art Fair + Show in Historic Overtown at the Historic Ward Rooming House during Miami Art Week/Art Basel/Soul Basel 2022. Point Comfort comprises an art exhibition and Indaba Lounge Series at the Historic Ward Rooming House and Gardens. It is sponsored by the City of Miami Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Revitalization Agency & Art of Black (Greater Miami Convention & Tourism Bureau), 100 Black Men of Florida, FIU-Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, Lowe Museum at the University of Miami, South Florida People of Color, E11leven Vodka and Duke + Dame Whiskey & Rolling Art and ViBEZ.

The name “Point Comfort” is derived from the place in colonial Virginia where the first captives from the West African Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola) arrived in 1619. The people of Ndongo and other African tribes lost their native tongues and many of their traditions here in America. Yet, through tremendous adversity, remnants of these lost traditions continue to express themselves in today’s African-American community’s song, dance, art, and crafts. “Point Comfort Art Fair + Show” celebrates those remnants. “We’re not just selling art” – The show is a curated, multi-dimensional experience designed to tell the powerful narrative of the African-American experience through art and conversation. POINT COMFORT is a teachable moment designed to pique curiosity, share legacies and facilitate the purchase of Black artwork. Point Comfort provides a platform for African American masters of American fine art at the largest art exposition in North America (Miami Art Week). Providing inestimable exposure to an international audience of art professionals, collectors, lovers, and patrons of the arts.

Point Comfort Art Fair + Show 2022 is a panoramic experience of ART, CONVERSATIONS, and Community. Our ART FAIR features the art of Basil Watson, Brandon Clark, Tiffani Glenn, Phil Shing, Musa Hixon, Chris Clark, Tommy the Animator, and Judy Bowman, in the Gardens @ The Historic Ward Rooming House within an 80×40 foot tent.

Our ART SHOW features a historic collection inside of the Historic Ward Rooming House showcasing “Charles White, Move on Up!” from The Norwood Collection and Florida Memorial University Special Collections, featuring the artwork of Charles White and his circle of influence – artists that inspired and mentored him and artists that he mentored and inspired – David Siqueiros, Hale Woodruff, Henry Tanner, Thomas Hart Benton, Romare Beardon, Barrington Watson, John Biggers, Ernie Barnes & Benny Andrews, and Musa Hixson. This show is the official companion exhibit for the Lowe Art Museum’s (University of Miami) Exhibition “Charles White, A Little Higher,” a 40-piece survey of the artwork of Charles White. The names of the respective shows at the Lowe Museum & Historic Ward Rooming House in Overtown are a play on words and unite a consistent theme within White’s work. Charles White created a charcoal drawing entitled “Move on Up, a Little Higher” that conveys all the emotional and figurative realism one associates with Charles White. The title refers to the gospel song of Mahalia Jackson, whose 1948 recording made her famous. We hope “Move on Up” and “A Little Higher” literally and figuratively become one, providing the viewer with a total unitary experience.

Point Comfort and the Legacy of HBCU Museums

HamptonArtLovers and Point Comfort Art Fair + Show are committed to showcasing the collections of the HBCU Museum during Miami Art Week in Historic Overtown annually. This year we are honored to have ten artworks from Hale Woodruff and Benny Andrews from Florida Memorial University Collection for our show “Charles White, Move On Up!”. HBCU Museums are the guardians of African-American Culture and History. Many of this nation’s HBCUs hold significant collections of American art and have founded galleries and museums on their campuses. Including Hampton University Museum, the first collecting institution devoted to Black fine art in America. HBCU collections provide a rich resource for studying nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art, specializing in African American art. As the principal caretakers of late nineteenth-century to late twentieth-century African American art, HBCUs hold incomparable objects and an unsurpassed record of educating artists and scholars of American art. Florida Memorial University’s small but significant collection is a jewel, and we are honored to present it for the community’s enjoyment.

GENERAL SCHEDULE
Sun | Nov 27 | 04:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Thu | Dec 01 | 06:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Fri | Dec 02 | 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sat | Dec 03 | 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sun | Dec 06 | 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Press Review
Thu | Dec 01 | 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Indaba Lounge Series | Opening Reception
Hosted by 100 Black Men of South Florida
Sounds Curated by FLY Guy

Fri | Dec 02 | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Indaba Lounge Series | Sounds of Soul: Vinyl 45s
Musical Conversation with Vinyl and a Musicologist
Sounds Curated by Rich Medina

Sat | Dec 03 | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Indaba Lounge Series | Art + Social Justice
Art Talk with Jill Deupi, Director and Chief Curator of the Lowe Museum (U of M)
& Christopher Norwood, Founder, and Curator of HamptonArtLovers:
“Charles White: Move On Up, A little Higher.”
University of Miami Black Alumni Society

Sat | Dec 03 | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Indaba Lounge Series | Art + Social Justice
“Images of Social Justice @ Point Comfort Art Fair”
Hosted by South Florida People of Color

Sat | Dec 03 | 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Indaba Lounge Series | Rare Grooves
Hosted South Florida People of Color
Sounds Curated by Millz

Sun | Dec 4 | 12 – 4pm
Indaba Lounge Series | HamptonArtLovers Presents:
“Bespoke: Vintage Motor Gallery”
Curated by Rolling Art and ViBEZ