“Small Towns, Black Lives” exhibit celebrates African American heritage

The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC) and the Center for Community Arts (CCA) present “Small Towns, Black Lives: African American Communities in New Jersey,” an exhibit by photographer Wendel A. White of African American communities in Cape May, Whitesboro and other towns in southern New Jersey, Jan. 13 through May 13 at the Carriage House Gallery at the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St.

White is a professor of art at Stockton College, Pomona, N.J., and winner of a 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship based on this project. “Small Towns, Black Lives” is a visual journal of White’s experiences as a fine art photographer and social documentarian. The exhibit features images of residents, businesses, historic landmarks, landscapes, interiors and exteriors of architecture, panoramic views of communities, and personal interviews which together transcend the specific locale and speak to the experience not only of a community, but of a nation.

The public is invited to the exhibit’s opening reception at 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 15, at the Carriage House Gallery. Admission is free and refreshments themed to the exhibit will be provided.

White will also be part of a panel discussion which is free and open to the public, 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 25 at the Carriage House Gallery.

Admission to the ongoing exhibit is $2 for adults, $1 for children (ages 3-12), or free with any tour of the Physick Estate. The Gallery is open weekends through March; call for hours.

These events are co-sponsored by MAC and CCA. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Cape May’s heritage. MAC also fosters the performing arts. MAC membership is open to all. For information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit MAC’s Web site at www.capemaymac.org.

Center for Community Arts is a multicultural educational nonprofit organization whose arts and humanities programs foster creativity, community building, and appreciation for the rich diversity of our world. The Center’s Community History Program is dedicated to preserving, interpreting and celebrating Cape May’s African American heritage through exhibits, tours, and its John and Janet Nash African American History Archive. The Center is currently rehabilitating the Franklin Street School, a Cape May African American Historic Site, to house a community cultural center, and recently launched WCFA-LP 101.5 FM, a community radio station. For further information, call 609-884-7525 or access CCA’s Web site at www.CenterforCommunityArts.org.

For information about restaurants, accommodations and shopping, call the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May at 609-884-5508.