(BALTIMORE – July 20, 2023) – A local artist, Art Professor Tamara Payne, did the damn thing yesterday evening. She curated the most phenomenal demonstration of art on the planet. Yep, the world was all hers as dozens of beautiful Black women dressed in Afrocentric garb paraded into the Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery at MICA on West North Avenue.
She presented a human art demo featuring local women.
“It was an installation and performance piece,” said Payne in an exclusive interview with BMORENews.com. “I just aimed to bring light to Black women and show how we have to show up in the world. The light is unmatched. We’ve made so many contributions to the world and other families. We’ve invested in other cultures. When are we going to have our time? Yesterday we had our time. And it’s not over.”
To say the least, it was amazing.
“So many women sowed into this. Nia June’s poem, ‘A Black Girl’s Country’, inspired the idea of home. The Black woman is home.”
Camera phones were fast at work as onlookers and supporters of her “Dear Black Girl” presentation couldn’t film fast enough.
Payne, who teaches at Baltimore City Community College, gave all who attended a mental feast.
Unfortunately, this is a country that has never embraced the African American. However, yesterday – Payne showed Black beauty at its finest. She reminded us all of the goddesses in our families, our community, our city …
Payne gave attendees a dose of Blackness that none will soon forget. The regal spirit of the Black woman is not to be taken for granted. She held the Black family together long before the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
One poet said that the Black woman is God. And if you had witnessed the human art exhibit, you too might agree.
