The Continuum of Threads June 2017

A festival of discussions, exhibitions and project learning featuring a community of African creatives who continue to contribute to the cultural landscape of textile art, design and lifestyle. Africa, Afro- Caribbean, Afro-Latina, and beyond.

See activities below

Hidden Figures: The Black Muslim Women’s Role in Founding the Modern Modest Fashion Movement

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ 148th Street, New York, NY 10039

RSVP required space is limited

presented by Yasmine Yasmine

More than a CEO, Yasmine Yasmine is an Ivy League educated Creative Director, Writer &
Scarf /Wardrobe Stylist. As the daughter of a model-stylist and granddaughter of an entrepreneur/bibliophile; marrying brains & beauty in business comes natural to this “Phi Beta Kappa Fashionista.”

Yasmine Yasmine’s degrees in Anthropology & Psychology, serve as the perfect tool for styling as they explore the beauty of creation via its many iterations & the thought processes of the people behind them. Paramount to Yasmine Yasmine’s graduate & undergraduate studies are the lessons from her mother’s lap.

Yasmine Yasmine draws from a global palette to create breathtaking looks that combine unique cultural color-ways and modern silhouettes. Her work exhibits a rich verbal/visual patina developed from a youth spent in showrooms, fabric stores, studios, back-stages, libraries, classrooms & museums with her mother.

Yasmine Yasmine has dedicated decades to advocating for educational equity & community development, on local and international platforms for grassroots, governmental and fortune 500 organizations.

Surface Design with Laura Gadson – #HARLEM. (period)

Saturday, June 24, 2017 12-3

2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ 148th Street, New York, NY 10039

#Harlem. (period) Celebrating Harlem through the artistry of textile. Community Engagement Project

Harlem Needle Arts uses public spaces as the landscape to showcase the works of fiber constructionist/artists/novice throughout the community. Utilizing parks lawns, trees trunks, light post, and railings as the canvas and the mediums of crochet, knitting and quilting, the artist lenses is charged with creating works which demonstrate the solidarity, sanctuary and legacy of Harlem.

#Harlem. serves as a community engagement and resource development tool to broaden the artistic and cultural voice of residents.

Surface Design with quilt artist Laura R. Gadson ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Bio: Quilt, fiber, mixed media and teaching artist Laura R Gadson lives works and plays in the village of Harlem, NYC. She has been exhibited and published both nationally and abroad and her artistry has been reproduced as public art in the Harlem Community. While continually exploring the limits of needle mediums including quilting, crochet and tatting she enjoys creating fine as well as functional works of art in the gamut of creative mediums.

Chief Nike Okundaye: An Odyssey through the Years

now thru June 17, 2017

The Gallery at Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center

2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ 148^th Street, New York, NY 10039

Curated by Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center and Harlem Needle Arts

This solo exhibit showcases works by Chief Nike Okundaye, her transformation of indigenous Yoruba Adire textile symbols into works in acrylic, pen and ink on canvas. An Odyssey Through the Years amplifies one woman’s overarching goal to emancipate herself while giving a voice to the voiceless as she empowers families through their Nigerian roots.

Gallery hours: Tuesday-Thursday 10am-8pm | Wednesday 12pm-6pm | Friday by Appointment Only

Saturday 10am-4pm

Tie and Dye Workshop

Saturday, June 10, 2017 Two Sessions 12pm and 2:30pm (First come first serve)

2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ 148th Street, New York, NY 10039

Oluwaseyi Shayee Awayomi will shares fashionable design elements and the history of Yoruba tie and dye.

Free | Supplies Included

Suitable for ages 14 and up.

My name is Oluwaseyi “Shayee” Awoyomi, and I am a visual and performing artist by trade, and an entertainment technologist by training. I was born into arts and bred in it by my world renowned parents, Nike Davies Okundaye of Nike Art Gallery, and Twins Olaniyi Seven Seven. I have been performing cultural dances since age three, and have traveled far and wide domestically and internationally. In line with what I inherited from my parents and my unwavering passion for arts and culture, I started Shayee Abike International Limited in Nigeria and Shayee arts Culture and Tours Inc. We render a host of vital products and services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, organizations, and corporations. Among the services that we provide are Art production; Visual and wearable art. Cultural performance and entertainment. Visual Arts – consultation and dealer services in paintings & textile. Tours & workshops – art and cultural tours. Yes We Can – summer camp/enrichment program for children and youth. We are constantly showcasing and performing the diverse richness of the Nigerian culture via a well-known dance troupe educating and teaching the importance of culturing all areas of life.

African Queens Soy Wax Workshop

Saturday, June 17 | Two Sessions | 12pm and 4pm

2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ 148th Street, New York, NY 10039

Free for ages 14-21 | $30 ages 21 and up Advance registration required.

Dindga McCannon uses drawings of African Queens to make an easy, quick batik art piece which can be made into a wall hanging, framed art piece or quilt. CLICK TO REGISTER.

Currently, on exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, Ms. McCannon was born and raised in Harlem where she began her artistic career at age 16 with the Weusi Artists Collective. She combines many different media into what she calls “ArtQuilts”. Ms. McCannon has taught in schools, shelters, and other alternative venues for over 5 decades. Her work is exhibited worldwide including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Smithsonian, Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center, Morris Jumel Manison and the Hamilton Landmark Gallery in Harlem.

Join us on your stroll through Harlem