series focused on The Watts Tower Art Center. The Watts Towers Arts Center was founded by artists and educators in the 1960s and has been a beacon of art and culture in the community for decades. This episode features the work of artists including Noah Purifoy, John Outterbridge, Betye Saar, Charles White, and Mark Steven Greenfield. The documentary provides great insight into the historic towers and the Watts art scene. TMG member Charmaine Jefferson appears several times in this episode, serving as a reoccurring spokesperson about the value of the Watts Tower Arts Center and the role it has played as a presenter and producer of art by Black artists in Los Angeles. She also discusses how it reflects history and the injustices experienced nationally that impacted the lives of the Black community and the voices of Black artists in particular.
"How a $970,000 award represents hope and change for a Black L.A. dance company"
In early 2020, Lula Washington leads a rehearsal at her company space on Crenshaw Boulevard.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Charmaine Jefferson has also spent the better part of the past year working with The International Association of Blacks in Dance and the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, culminating in a $970K grant under the Mellon Foundation. This was the largest grant in the Mellon/IABD COHI initiative, which included direct and constant work with the Nonprofit Finance Fund. While the dance groups are not museums, Jefferson explains that "there isn't one thing I gained from this recent success that isn't applicable to my other work with museums."
Read more in this L.A. Times January 15, 2021 article by Makeda Easter.
New York City Educator's Roundtable
Paul Orselli spoke about networking as part of the NYCMER (New York City Educator’s Roundtable) Career Symposium on January 10.
