America I AM Exhibition Mobile Experience Begins Nationwide Tour July 4
Tavis Smiley to Kick Off 'America I AM Across America' at ESSENCE Music
Festival in New Orleans
LOS ANGELES, June 30 -- "America I AM Across America," a
mobile experience leading to the America I AM: The African American Imprint
museum exhibition, will make its debut July 4 at the ESSENCE Music Festival
in New Orleans, bringing the exhibition's inspirational message to the
heart of more than 40 communities across the country.
The museum exhibition will open in November celebrating 400 years of
African American contributions to the nation through artifacts, documents,
multimedia, photos and music. "America I AM Across America" will serve as a
traveling microcosm of the exhibition, a multi-sensory experience complete
with artifacts, text, video, music and a unique visitor interactive
opportunity. In a customized mobile recording booth, visitors will have the
opportunity to leave their own "imprints" as recorded video messages that
will travel with the exhibition. This living imprint will grow to become
the largest oral history project in U.S. history as the exhibit travels to
cities across the country.
As it criss-crosses the nation from July to November, "America I AM
Across America" will make appearances at festivals, African American
museums, landmarks, schools and other community gatherings in cities
including New Orleans, St. Louis, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Memphis, Denver,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., New York,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and many more. The
exhibition is made possible by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which serves as its
presenting sponsor, and also will host the mobile tour in several cities. A
full schedule will be available soon at http://www.AmericaIAM.org.
"I've participated in the ESSENCE Music Festival numerous times, and
I'm always looking for any excuse to return to New Orleans! The ESSENCE
Music Festival is the perfect place to kick off this tour and I'm looking
forward to visiting other communities as well, as this tour travels across
America," said Tavis Smiley.
"Wal-Mart is proud to be part of such an innovative display of the
trials and triumphs of the African-American community," said Rosalind
Brewer, president, Southeast Division, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "It is
important to recognize African-American history as American history and as
something that should be celebrated throughout the year. And there is no
better way to share the enormous contributions of African-Americans with
communities across the country than through a nationwide traveling
exhibit."
Developed in partnership with The Smiley Group, Inc., and organized by
Arts and Exhibitions International (AEI) and Cincinnati Museum Center,
America I AM: The African American Imprint is a four-year touring
exhibition that will tell the story of the nation's African people and
their legacies through objects, texts, religion, music, narration and media
culled from every period of the nation's history. Featuring more than 150
extraordinary artifacts, the exhibit will present a historical continuum of
pivotal moments in courage, conviction and creativity that solidifies the
undeniable imprint of African Americans across the nation and around the
world.
More details about the mobile tour and exhibition, including a gallery
walkthrough moderated by Tavis Smiley, are available at
http://www.AmericaIAM.org.
ABOUT The Smiley Group, Inc.
Founded in 1998 and based in Los Angeles, The Smiley Group, Inc., (TSG)
is a communications corporation dedicated to supporting human rights and
related empowerment issues. The mission of TSG is to achieve positive
results through advocacy and education on issues of concern to African
Americans and other people without substantial economic or social standing.
TSG is the holding company for Tavis Smiley Presents, Smiley Radio
Properties, High Quality Speakers Bureau, TS Media, and SmileyBooks. The
Tavis Smiley Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides
leadership development training for youth. Tavis Smiley is the host of
Tavis Smiley on PBS and The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI and the
author/editor of 11 books including the New York Times best sellers
Covenant with Black America, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing up
in America, and THE COVENANT In Action. For more information, visit
http://www.tavistalks.com.
ABOUT Arts and Exhibitions International (AEI)
Founded in 2003 by president John Norman and international vice
president Andres Numhauser, AEI produces the award-winning exhibition
"Diana: A Celebration" in association with the Althorp Estate in the United
Kingdom, two touring exhibitions dedicated to the treasures of King
Tutankhamun and "Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave
Ship to Pirate Ship." Norman and Numhauser have nearly 40 years combined
experience in the entertainment and exhibition business, working over the
years on such projects as "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit" and "Saint Peter
and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes." The company has relationships
with the most important museums in the world and has presented traveling
exhibitions on four continents.
AEI is part of AEG Exhibitions, an affiliate division of AEG LIVE. AEG
LIVE is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live
contemporary music performance and the live-entertainment division of Los
Angeles-based AEG, one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters
in the world. For more information, log onto
http://www.artsandexhibitions.com.
ABOUT Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is home to the Cincinnati
History Museum, Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural
History & Science, the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX(R) Theater, and the
Cincinnati Historical Society Archives & Library. It is a nationally
recognized educational and research resource and one of the top cultural
attractions in the Midwest. With more than one million visitors each year,
Museum Center is the top cultural attraction in Cincinnati and the most
visited museum complex in the State of Ohio. Originally built in 1933 as
the Union Terminal train station, the building is a national historic
landmark and was renovated and reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center in
1990. For information, call (513) 287-7000 or 1-800-733-2077 or visit
http://www.cincymuseum.org.
ABOUT Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters,
Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to
its online store at http://www.wal-mart.com. The company and its Foundation
are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)
is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and
associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than
$270 million to communities in the Unites States. To learn more, visit
http://www.walmartfacts.com, http://www.walmartstores.com, or
http://www.walmartfoundation.org.
See Also
posted by falklandtiffiny0442 @ 05:16
<< Home