PNC Bank Presents Gantt After Dark

Honoring March as Women's History Month and in the spirit of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – a patroness of the arts and England’s first Black Queen – the theme of this month's Gantt After Dark is “CROWN’D: a celebration of Black Girl Magic.” CROWN’D will revel in the beauty, strength, resilience, and legacy of Black womanhood, Black girl magic, and Black regality.

With a focus on local Black women artists and entrepreneurs, the evening will be filled with live readings, radical performances, film screenings and art-making activities that appeal to all generations. We will uplift the magic of Black womanhood and demonstrate the full spectrum of Blackness, as we seek to reveal the roots of the Black mother, present her multifaceted nature, and most importantly, crown her in the Queen City.

ABOUT THE EVENING'S PROGRAMS

Location: Gift Shop

Local author, Dr. Tiffiny Nicole Shockley, will be signing copies of her recently released book, BLACKNESS: The Life and Times of an Unpopular People in the Gantt Center gift shop.  This book helps to uncover many root causes for the present-day status and condition of African Americans. The author goes on a fact-finding mission to expose little known truths. This manuscript is raw and somewhat unsettling, but uncovers realities that need to be told.

About the Author

Dr. T. Nicole Shockley is a social change and public health expert and researcher who advocates for health, diversity, and race relations in the African American community.

Location: Grand Lobby

5th + York – Groove to the sounds and rhythms of influential, black female vocalists in honor of Women’s History month, with our resident Gantt After Dark band 5th + York, featuring trombonist Buff Dillard and the Queen City Bone Jazz.

Reading Material

From their research and personal libraries, Gantt Center exhibiting artists and curators were asked to provide a list of texts that directly relate to their exhibitions.  From Michel Foucault’s “Society Must be Defended” to Octavia Butler’s “Wild Seed,” local black women artists, scholars, entrepreneurs, and community leaders will read excerpts from these texts, beginning at 6:30pm, every hour. After each short reading, the conversations will continue in the 2nd Floor Gallery.

• 6:30pm - 6:45pm – Morgan Maxwell, Ph.D.  
• 7:30pm - 7:45pm – Jimese Sherrie + Loán Sewer
• 8:30pm - 8:45pm – Brianna Daniels
• 9:30pm - 9:45pm – Alicia Cobb + Jessica Moss

Live Painting

Witness how local artists and entrepreneurs Whitney Austin and Cathay Dawkins capture the evening’s events with live painting as you enter the building. 

Location: Multipurpose Room

Rough Cuts: A Cultural Film Study

During this month’s Rough Cuts series, we will screen the world premiere of three new shorts by filmmaker Stacey Rose about the intersection of perception, identity and race. Rough Cuts curator, Will Jenkins, will lead a thought-provoking discussion following each of the short films.

About the Filmmaker

Stacey Rose is from Elizabeth, NJ. As an artist, she chooses to create work that explores Black identity and the dilemma of "otherness." She earned a B.A. in Theatre at UNC Charlotte and an MFA in Dramatic Writing at New York University (NYU). During her time at NYU, she was honored with The Goldberg Prize for her play, The Danger: A Homage to Strange Fruit. Stacey’s work has been screened at The Fire This Time Festival (Slavesperience), The Brooklyn Generator (As Is), The Bushwick Starr Reading Series (Igniting The Alabaster You!), and the Mosaic Theatre (The Black Jew Thing). In 2015-16, she was named the Dramatist Guild Fellow. Most recently, she serves as script coordinator for She's Gotta Have It, Spike Lee's new series for Netflix.

• 6:30pm - Peace (3:10)
• 7:30pm - Hate (4:41)
• 8:30pm - Fun (4:31)

2 Elephants In The Room (Live Podcast)

2 Elephants In The Room is a mental health edutainment podcast that focuses on the experiences of two therapists, Alicia Cobb and Erin Steele, who are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. During this month’s Gantt After Dark, Alicia and Erin, will be recording a live episode at the Gantt Center. Help them to document the evening by sharing your story with the 2 Elephants In The Room.

Location: Classroom

Creative Collages with artist Martha Rucker

Gantt Center Gift Shop artist, Martha Rucker, will demonstrate her creative art-making process of turning a picture into a collage in the Gantt Center Classroom. Learn about the importance of negative and positive space as you create your own masterpiece to take home! $10 for members, $15 for non-members. 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Advance registration required, 20 students max.

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About the Artist

Martha Rucker, an artist and art educator for 30 years, developed her unique “mosaic collage” technique one day when teaching a class. She uses family albums – photos of people and children – and images that convey emotion to address African Americans’ pasts.

Location: Classroom Annex

Local Black Business Spotlight

Charlotte-based entrepreneurs will share their locally-sourced and handcrafted products with guests of Gantt After Dark. 

• Dani Brockington - Handmade, repurposed, paper flower crowns
• LaTanya Crosby - Kerit soaps, skin care and lotions

Location: 2nd Floor Gallery

Free Guided Tour, 6:00pm

Location: Gallery East

Free Guided Tour, 7:00pm

ReCROWN: ReFOCUS: ReCENTER

Gina Spriggs, local entrepreneur and holistic intuitive; and Kelley Carboni Woods, yoga instructor, writer, mother, and small business owner, will lead participants through these two sessions of guided meditation around the Future is Abstract exhibition. Retrieve, remember and reactivate your natural intuitive gifts and powers by focusing on the concepts of space, time and Blackness seen in the abstract works of exhibiting artists Torkwase Dyson and Brenna Youngblood. The goal of these two 30-minute workshops is to rediscover your power centers; experience a meditative journey into your past, present and future to unlock and reactivate your dormant intuitive powers and clear away emotions, thought patterns, or energies that keep you from honoring your greatness. $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

• ReFocus – 6:30pm - 7:00pm, Gina will demonstrate different reflection and focusing skills as they relate to self-work and multigenerational cognitive development.
  
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• ReCenter – 7:30pm - 8:00pm, Kelley will focus on body awareness and breathing techniques to provide her students with the tools necessary to navigate life with gratitude, self-study and joy.
  
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Author and Holistic Intuitive, Gina Spriggs is a Charlottean who helps women align with their intuition, power, and purpose. Her readings and programs are sought out by those who are ready to take action and be empowered.

Kelley Carboni Woods is from Charlotte, NC. She was introduced to yoga through private classes as she was seeking another way to support her weight loss journey. Yoga was transformative in the way she lived her life, making her realize she wanted to make the practice accessible to all body types, ages and physical fitness levels.

Location: Gallery West

Free Guided Tour, 8:00pm

Radical Performances

Local thespian and youth instructor Andrea Michele will present her thoughts and reflections on womanhood, resistance to oppression, and the hardships of life by examining the link between the current exhibition Alison Saar: The Nature of Us and the recently released album Solange Knowles: A Seat at The Table. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm.

Gantt After Dark is generously sponsored by PNC.

Where art + culture come to life!