Wakeupworld Salon: Malene Barnett

Join us for Wakeupworld Salon: Malene Barnett, organized in the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance's famed salons that brought together communities of artists and intellectuals to foster creativity and explore themes also found in our centennial exhibition100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity. We will keep the galleries open until 8pm, inviting you to view and gain inspiration from the exhibition, hear from award-winning multidisciplinary artist Malene Barnett (6PM) in an intimate conversation atop of the famed Houston Conwill cosmogram Rivers, and be in community with those in attendance over light refreshments.

100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity celebrates 100 years of groundbreaking work at the Schomburg Center. Curated by Center Director, Joy Bivins, the exhibition explores Schomburg’s legacy through the prism of place, people, and material culture. Featuring iconic objects from each of Schomburg’s five collecting divisions across three galleries, 100 is filled with artwork, photography, rare publications and personal journals, audio recordings from the archive, and highlights the iconic Aaron Douglas 4-panel mural Aspects of Negro Life.

This is the beginning of our Wakeupworld Salon series. Stay tuned for more dates and featured guests.

*The salon takes its name--Wakeupworld--from Countee Cullen's mythical creature in his poem The Wakeupworld.

MALENE BARNETT

Malene (ma-lay-nee) Djenaba (jen-na-ba) Barnett is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, textile surface designer, and community builder. She holds an MFA in Ceramics from the Tyler School of Art & Architecture, undergraduate degrees in Fashion Illustration and Textile Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and was awarded a Fulbright Award in 2022 to research African Jamaican ceramic traditions, as a visiting artist at Edna Manley College in Kingston, Jamaica. In her work, Malene explores both her Caribbean heritage and surface pattern design found in African and diasporic architecture, textiles and objects. From art and design to research, writing and public speaking, Malene works to empower and unite Black artists and designers through community building.

In 2024, Malene released her first book, “Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practice of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers” (Hachette), which includes interviews with over 60 artists of Caribbean heritage, taking readers on an important journey through the world of Black Caribbean creativity. This groundbreaking collection is the first to feature Caribbean makers’ intimate stories of their artmaking processes, and how their countries of origin—the “land” —influences and informs how and what they create.

Malene is also the founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild, a collective of independent Black makers.

This year, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding! Join us all year long for a wide array of special events, exhibitions, and more as we celebrate this milestone and continue the legacy of Arturo Schomburg.

Schomburg100 | Exhibition | Special-Edition Library Card | Become a Member

#Schomburg100

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FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested.

ACCESSIBLILITY Accessibility requests can be made by e-mail [email protected].

E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that personal and professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, United States

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