May 14, 2009 — World famous artist Ademola Olugebefola is returning to his native Virgin Islands this weekend to help a St. Croix school celebrate the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.
Olugebefola, who was born on St. Thomas, now lives in New York. His paintings — which are infused with the spirit of the Caribbean — have been exhibited and sold all over the world.
Friday and Saturday he will take part in the Harlem Renaissance Festival being held by Manor School in Estate Princesse.
Also featured as part of the festival will be a pig roast luncheon, Harlem Renaissance scholar Edgar Lake, local historian and author Dr. Gloria Joseph, poet Oyoko Loving, an art showcase and juried art show, performances by Manor students, a chess tournament for players from age 9 to 12, plus classroom displays and more.
The event is sponsored by the V.I. Humanities Council and local businesses.
The Harlem Renaissance occurred roughly from the early 1910s to 1930s. It was a flowering of black culture – in the arts, in literature, music and science – centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. In a little more than 10 years it produced such luminaries as writer Langston Hughes, actor Paul Robeson, poet Alice Dunbar-Nelson, intellectuals W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey and musicians Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a small handful out of hundreds.
And among them were a string of people who traveled from the Caribbean to the bright lights of New York, including a host of Virgin Islanders, including humanitarian Casper Holstein, political activists Hubert Henry Harrison, Frank Crosswaith and Elizabeth Hendrickson, celebrated photographer Austin Hansen, novelist Nellallitea "Nella" Larsen and politician J. Raymond Jones, known as the Harlem Fox.
"The Harlem Renaissance was the first time black Americans showed the world that they were people of culture and creativity and learning," said Dr. Anita Roberts, a teacher at Manor School and organizer of the event.
The Harlem Renaissance Festival begins from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday with a dinner and silent auction at the Palms Restaurant in Estate Princesse. Admission and dinner is $50. All proceeds from the event go to support the Manor School Scholarship fund.
From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday the action moves to the Manor School campus. The pig roast will be served between noon and 5 p.m. for $10 a plate.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the school's website.
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