State Museum plans Black History events

• By ROBIN MILLER
• Arts writer
• Published: Jan 25, 2009 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The Louisiana State Museum-Baton Rouge, 660 N. 4th St., will host a series of Black History Month programs for all ages in February:

• First Free Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb., 1. The museum offers free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

• Capturing Memories of the Past: Jessie Coats, 3-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1. Ever wonder what it’s like to step into the past just from looking at a picture? Connect with the story of Port Hudson African-American artist/storyteller Jessie Coats as she demonstrates the recording of history through art. There will be a hands-on activity for children. The program is appropriate for ages 8-12 with adults. Registration is required. To register, call (225) 342-5414. Admission to the program is free.

• Free Persons of Color in Antebellum Baton Rouge by John Sykes, education manager, Louisiana State Museum-Baton Rouge, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8. Sykes presents an overview of his original research into the world of free persons of color in Antebellum Louisiana with a focus on East Baton Rouge Parish. Admission to the program is free.

• Heroes Among Us, 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 25-27. A historical display presents the contributions of African-American soldiers in the U.S. Army. This 10-panel photography piece highlights events from the Revolutionary Period through the Gulf War. Open during museum hours. Viewing closes at 2 p.m. on Friday. For more information, call http://www.lsm.crt.state.la.us.

Exhibit opening today
The West Baton Rouge Museum, 845 N. Jefferson Ave., Port Allen, will host an opening at 2:30 p.m. today, Jan. 25, for its exhibit The Willie Harris Collection: Historical Photos featuring Southern University. The event will feature a talk by curator James Terry III, refreshments and the film SignPost to Freedom: The 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, a Louisiana Public Broadcasting documentary featuring several Willie Harris photographs

Also, on Sunday, Feb. 1, the museum will feature a lecture by Judge Trudy White, who will speak on Historical Perspectives on Baton Rouge and Civil Rights. White is the documentary film writer for Baton Rouge’s Troubled Waters: Brooks and Park and Beyond, also produced by LPB. Immediately following White’s lecture, there will be a screening of the documentary.
For more information, call (225) 336-2422.

At Southern University
The exhibit Barack Obama is showing through February in the first floor lobby of Southern University’s John B. Cade Library on campus. The exhibit includes three display areas celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

Exhibit hours are 7:30 a.m.-midnight Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 1-5 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.-midnight Sunday.

For more information, call (225) 771-2843 or e-mail at eddie@lib.subr.edu.

Also, the exhibit The Price of Equality, featuring photos by Chris McNair, will run through March 31 at SU’s Museum of Fine Art on campus. The theme for the art museum’s 2008-2009 exhibit schedule is From Shackles to the White House: The African American Experience through Art.

The Price of Equality exhibit includes 22 photographs from McNair’s career as a photographer and captures the personalities and events of the Civil Rights Movement.

Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call (225) 771-4513.

Recent Works at Glassell
The LSU School of Art faculty exhibition Recent Works will run through Feb. 15 at the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Exhibition Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.

Participating artists are Jeremiah Ariaz, Kimberly Arp, Lynne Joddrell Baggett, Gerald Bower, Denyce Celentano, Michael Crespo, Paul Dean, Robert Hausey, Wei He, Christopher Hentz, Chris Johns, Kelli Scott Kelley, Leslie Koptcho, John A. Malveto, Malcolm McClay, Thomas Neff, Frederick Ortner, Rod Parker, Andy Shaw, Ed Smith, Michaelene Walsh and Professor Emeriti: James Burke, Melody Guichet, A.J. Meek and Edward Pramuk.

This exhibition features examples of contemporary art in all medias; ceramics, design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

For more information, call (225) 389-7180 or e-mail artgallery@lsu.edu.