WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATED AT DUSABLE MUSEUM WITH EXHIBITION

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATED AT DUSABLE MUSEUM WITH EXHIBITION 

CURATED BY DR. CAROL ADAMS AND JANIS LANE EWART; DESIGNED BY DORIAN SYLVAIN 

FREE AT FIRST: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians 

Exhibit Salutes AACM at 50 The DuSable Museum of African American History is celebrating Women's History Month with an exhibition curated and designed by three dynamic, visionary women. Co-curated by jazz advocate Janis Lane Ewart and Dr. Carol Adams, retired CEO of DuSable Museum, and designed by muralist/ fine artist Dorian Sylvain, FREE AT FIRST: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a dynamic, expansive display of the creative output and profound impact of the Chicago-born and bred music collective, one of the nation's most enduring. The exhibit is on view at DuSable Museum located at 740 E. 56th Place through September 6, 2015. 

Internationally renowned for unparalleled contributions to modern music, the AACM is marking its 50th anniversary with a year-long series of concerts, discussions, and other programs. Founded in Chicago in 1965 in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, it took its cue from the Movement to define itself. The exhibition's title is derived from the AACM's audacity to compose, perform, publish, own, and institutionalize their own music and to prepare future exponents of their genre-bending, experimental form through the free AACM School of Music.

"The celebration of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians is the culmination of a conversation that I had with (co-founder) Muhal Richard Abrams and Jeff Donaldson about the energy that created a level of cultural institution building in Chicago that is unsurpassed," said Dr. Carol Adams, co-curator and the catalyst for the exhibition. "We dreamed about a single exhibition that would celebrate many of our iconic cultural institutions including the grandmother of them all -- the Southside Community Arts Center.

We should have known that all that was too powerful for one show! But we are proud to have inaugurated a series that presents the ongoing work of these iconic organizations and hope they rekindle the energy that inspired their great accomplishments for generations to come."

FREE AT FIRST is as broad and wide-ranging an exhibition as the music created by the AACM. The women have assembled historic and iconic photographs, a musical soundscape inclusive of AACM founders and the newest generation, film and video, performance costumes, uniquely crafted awards of recognition, and performance posters from around the globe all displayed on beautifully designed backgrounds. It includes original instruments like the frankiphone modeled on the African mbira by Kelan Phil Cohran and the "StepHopThread Airbone," an interactive installation piece by Douglas Ewart.

For more information on the museum and its programs, call 773-947-0600 or visit www.dusablemuseum.org . For more information on the AACM, visit www.aacm.org.

Organized by DuSable Museum of African American History, "FREE AT FIRST: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians" and related programs is sponsored by The Chicago Community Trust, the Illinois Humanities Council, The DuSable Museum of African American History, and United Airlines, the Official Airline of the DuSable Museum. This project is partially supported by a grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The DuSable Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Chicago Park District.

About The DuSable Museum of African American History The DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country. Our mission is to collect, preserve and display artifacts and objects that promote understanding and inspire appreciation of the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans through exhibits, programs and activities that illustrate African and African American history, culture and art. For more information on the museum and its programs, please call 773-947-0600 or visit www.dusablemuseum.org.

About the Curators CAROL L. ADAMS, Ph.D. is Founder and CEO of Urban Prescriptives, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in program and organizational development for enterprises engaged in educational, social and cultural practice. This venture merges the diverse experiences that comprise her remarkable career and her commitment to asset-based and data-driven models for social change.

In her recent position, as President and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History, Dr. Adams not only raised over $15 million, but she raised the visibility of the venerated institution through the "Du Something" branding campaign and the implementation of a host of well-received public programs. Historic re-enactments of the March on Washington and African American participation in the Civil War, the creation of a mobile museum, the presentation of jazz concerts and dance on the grounds of the museum represent a sampling of those initiatives. Further the Museum hosted heads of state from Africa and sponsored study-travel tours of Mexico, Cuba, and Brazil.

JANIS LANE EWART has an extensive background as an arts administrator working with local, regional and nationally based arts organizations. Currently employed as a development consultant and media producer for several nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities and Chicago, she is Guest Curator of the "Free At First: The Audacious Journey of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians" exhibition.

Janis has provided services to nonprofit organizations such as Arts Presenters, the Rhythm & Blues Foundation (Washington, DC); Little Black Pearl, Jazz Institute of Chicago, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and Muntu Dance Theatre (Chicago, IL); and, Minneapolis-based radio stations KMOJ, KBEM and KFAI, Fresh Air Radio, where she recently completed 12 years of service as its Executive Director. She remains active as a volunteer programmer and producer at KFAI, Fresh Air Radio, volunteering within the News Department as reporter and newsreader on KFAI's Thursday "Morning Blend." She serves on the boards of numerous organizations.

About the Designer DORIAN SYLVAIN is a painter, an interpreter of color and how it can be used to exploit imagery. Her paintings have crossed many disciplines; studio painting, scenic design, mural painting, decorative arts, education, curation and community planning. For the past three decades she has been committed to the creation of public art projects that expose children and communities to artmaking, providing a group experience that elevates the neighborhoods aesthetic understanding. Ms Sylvain has developed dozens of large-scale art projects designed to engage the public in the creation of a finished artistic expression and to promote the cultures of the African Diaspora.

She is currently designing three murals for the Chicago Public Schools that explore unique cultural markers found around the world, as seen through architecture and the decorative arts. Sylvain most recently completed two exhibition designs for the DuSable Museum: "Africobra: Art and Impact" (2013) and "Free at First: The Audacious Journey of the AACM "(2015). Both exhibitions made full use of her bold color expression and painted mural throughout the gallery.