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March 31, thru August 13, 2012

Earth Women:

An Exhibition of

Original Paintings & Assemblage Art

by 6 Women Artists**

Come Celebrate Earth Day !

~ 9: 00 am until 1:00 pm

(Please bring or wear your work clothes

& help us to cultivate our Garden Studio)

Noah Purifoy Gallery

Watts Towers Arts Center

1727 East 107th Street

Los Angeles, CA 90002

** For info and gallery hours please call 213.847.4646

or visit: www.wattstowers.org

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A Bit About "Earth Women:"

This "earth-honoring" exhibition features original paintings, fine art prints and assemblage art by 6 wimmin artists; AfraShe Asungi, Margaret Garcia, Rebeca Guerrero, Dominique Moody, Toni Love, and Noni Olabisi.

Also included in this Earth Women exhibit will be the recently commissioned public art work, O' Speak, Speak 2, which is proactively influenced by the 1971 sculpture, O Speak, Speak 1, created by Dale Davis, Charles Dickson, Nate Fearonce, John Outterbridge, and Elliott Pinkney.

As has been explained by John Outterbridge, The whole idea of the "Ceremony of the Land" (O' Speak, Speak 1) was to get the people in the area to know that they could make decisions about how that land area was used."

Image: Detail of "O' Speak Speak 2: TaNubian(tm) Praise Song For Mama Miti Maathai:
7 Seeds of Harambee Cultivates EarthRooted Global SheChange(tm) in the Hearts of Many . . .(tm)" by AfraShe Asungi. 2012-20 Asungi Productions.

"O' Speak, Speak 2" is a modern interpretation of the historic artwork, once located near Watts Towers Arts Center in that it also celebrates the contributions of wimmin artists and just how the 5 invited wimmin artists uniquely expressed the orignal concept of O' Speak, Speak 1; around "ceremony of the land" and how people related to land and recognized that they could/should make decisions about how the land is used.

[Please click here for more about this public art work]

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Earth Women: Artists' Reception

~ Celebrating Earth Day At The Towers . . .

April 22, 2012, marks the 42nd anniversary of "Earth Day" and in like-minded spirit of personal and global earth-responsible awareness. The Watts Towers Arts Center, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) and the 6 Artists of Earth Women, presents and will participate in a "pre-reception" and "artists' reception" in a one-day event at the Watts Towers Arts Center (WTAC) by inviting you to come participate by spending some time with us as we celebrate Earth Day Our Way . . . .

From about 10 am we'll be working in the Garden Studio there at the Towers ~ we invite you to bring your family and friends and your work clothes and come work with us in the garden.

At 1 pm, we invite you to attend our artists' reception which includes an artists' talk by the 6 Artists [AfraShe Asungi, Margaret Garcia, Rebeca Guerrero, Dominique Moody, Toni Love, and Noni Olabisi] along with food and an awesome jazz performance ~ all in the spirit of honoring the importance of our connections and relationship to our "Mama Earth" and in celebration of this historical "Earth Day".

This visually intriguing Earth-Honoring Women's Art Exhibit, which is curated by Rosie Lee Hooks, Willie Middlebrook & Rogelio Acevedo, will be open to the general public at the WTAC from March 31, thru August 13, 2012.

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Earth Women Exhibit Celebrates . . .

Earth Day: The History of A Movement . . .

Here's a bit about the History and meaning of Earth Day :

Image: Detail of "O' Speak Speak 2: TaNubian(tm) Praise Song For Mama Miti Maathai:
7 Seeds of Harambee Cultivates EarthRooted Global SheChange(tm) in the Hearts of Many . . .(tm)" by AfraShe Asungi. 2012-20 Asungi Productions.

"On April 22, more than one billion people around the globe will participate in Earth Day 2012 and help Mobilize the Earth. People of all nationalities and backgrounds will voice their appreciation for the planet and demand its protection. Together we will stand united for a sustainable future and call upon individuals, organizations, and governments to do their part.

"You can attend a local Earth Day event and join one of our Earth Day campaigns as we collect A Billion Acts of Green and elevate the importance of environmental issues around the world. Together people from communities around the earth will Mobilize the Earth on April 22 and honor change.    

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"Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkels Bridge Over Troubled Water. Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

" "Environment" was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. Although mainstream America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962.

"The book represented a watershed moment for the modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and, up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms. Carson raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and public health. Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center.

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.

Image: An Afrakan(R) ReShaping(tm) For 4 Wimmin Suite(tm). 2011-20 Asungi Productions.

"As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.



"Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Gaylord recalled, "but it worked."

"As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.

Image: Public Unveiling of Public Art Work, "O' Speak Speak 2 PAW in WTAC's Garden Studio.

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"Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1995) -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.

"As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. With 5,000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990.

"It used the Internet to organize activists, but also featured a talking drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, and hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Earth Day 2000 sent world leaders the loud and clear message that citizens around the world wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

"Much like 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to a strong narrative that overshadowed the cause of progress and change.

   "In spite of the challenge, for its 40th anniversary, Earth Day Network reestablished Earth Day as a powerful focal point around which people could demonstrate their commitment.

"Earth Day Network brought 225,000 people to the National Mall for a Climate Rally, amassed 40 million environmental service actions toward its 2012 goal of A Billion Acts of Green, launched an international, 1-million tree planting initiative with Avatar director James Cameron and tripled its online base to over 900,000 community members.

"The fight for a clean environment continues in a climate of increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day. We invite you to be a part of Earth Day and help write many more victories and successes into our history.

"Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grassroots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come."

[Please click here for info about Earth Day and how you can proactively take part]

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Women and the Green Economy (WAGE)

In keeping with my own Afrakan(R) philosophy the artwork which and in keeping with my mindful intent to practively effect social awareness and action by dedicating my recent work, "TaNubian(tm) Praise Song For Mama Miti Maathai: 7 Seeds of Harambee Cultivates EarthRooted Global SheChange(tm) in the Hearts of Many . . . (tm)" to the Green Tree Environmential Activist, Dr. Wangari Maathai . . .

And in keeping with my specific intent ~ to insure that my O' Speak, Speak 2 Public Art piece's social activism and communal theme honors how Mama Miti courageously implemented "the importance of viable relationship between community and the land" / commemorates and praises the recently passed, Dr. Wangari Maathai for her courageous stand against the former oppressive regime in Kenya; and how "her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppressionnationally and internationally-- and served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation."

And it's in this this regard, that I also share this link to "Women In The Green Economy [WAGE] which mainly focuses on assisting wimmin to become aware of and to activity get involved in the advancement and structuring of this growing green economy movement which will effect wimmin's lives globally . . .

"Promoting Sustainability and Solutions to Climate Change

"To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its Women and the Green Economy (WAGE) Campaign. WAGE is working today to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and generate relevant national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.

"Launched at the UNFCCC 16th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico in December, 2010, the WAGE Campaign is actively creating a road map for women to aggregate their power and promote their leadership in creating a sustainable green economy and mitigating climate change.

"Earth Day Network created WAGE in view of the following facts:

• Women constitute more than half of the worlds population
• Women make 85 percent of all consumer choices
• Women are rising to key positions of power
• Women can lead the way to a sustainable green economy

"Together, our most talented and successful women can fast-forward the green economy."

[Please click here for info about Earth Day and how you can proactively take part]

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