SUNY Orange celebrates black history and heritage

Middletown — A celebration, “Black History and Heritage,” will begin with a reception for an art show by contemporary African-American artists from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, in Orange Hall Gallery at Orange County Community College. The show will highlight the paintings, drawings, and sculptures of Toph, Aleathia Brown, Tracey Moore, and Maxwell Kofi Donkor. For entertainment, the Sankofa Drum & Dance Ensemble will perform at 4 p.m., during the reception. Moore, from Brockton, Mass., is the granddaughter of Buffalo Soldier Sgt. Robert P. Johnson, now deceased. Johnson was stationed for many years at West Point and worked with the Army mules. Moore is also the niece of Joann Johnson Brown, a retired art teacher who taught in the Highland Falls Middle School. Toph resides in Middletown, but has lived and worked all over the U.S.A. Aleathia Brown, who lives in the Bronx, will present an art master class, “Visual Voice,” in Orange Hall Gallery on Monday, Feb. 6. Maxwell Kofi Donkor is a sculptor and drummer, originally from Ghana, now living in the town of Greenville with a Middletown mailing address. As the leader and a drummer with Sankofa, he goes by the name of Kofi. In addition to the art show, “Black History and Heritage” will include a lecture on Thursday, Feb. 2, a performance on Saturday, Feb. 4, and the art master class with demonstration by Brown on Monday, Feb. 6. Orange Hall is a universally accessible building located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues in Middletown. The exhibit and reception are free. The exhibit will be on view from Saturday, Jan. 14, to Sunday, Feb. 26. Exhibit hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as during events in Orange Hall Theater and Gallery. The celebrations are Lyceum events, presented by Cultural Affairs at OCCC. For more information, call 341-4891, write to cultural@sunyorange.edu, or visit www.sunyorange.edu/lyceum.