THE MAJESTY OF AFRICAN MOTHERHOOD
Featured at the Savannah Black Heritage Festival

“The climate here testifies to the reasons why tens of thousands of viewers all over the country have hailed this traveling exhibit as sine qua non. An identical atmosphere must have thrilled Pablo Ruiz Picasso, both at the Trocadero museum, as well as at the Flea market and caused him to stay glued to the African traditional figures, even though he was afraid and felt alone,” spoke professor Emeka Anonyuo at the opening reception of The Majesty of African Motherhood, at Savannah State University.

The Nyama-dynamic force, vital force or electricity radiated by this collection, aptly entitled The Majesty of African Motherhood, is too intense for anyone to ignore, or feign insensitivity to their audible messages,” Anonyuo said.

The Majesty of African Motherhood, exhibition presented by Herman Bigham and Associates, was featured in the 2004 Savannah Black Heritage Festival, on the Savannah State University campus. By presenting the exhibition in a nontraditional museum environment, such as libraries, public schools and art festivals, an opportunity is provided for youth and art enthusiasts to view the aesthetics, along with the cultural context that provides a guide for positive cultural modeling today, said Bigham. Comprising over 70 mother and child images of superb artistic and cultural merit in wood, bronze and photography, the exhibition is currently on a projected 11 city tour through 2006. “Can we afford to be ignorant, complacent and or insensitive after hearing Herman Bigham, a preserver of African spiritual and ritual objects share his conviction and his purpose in exhibiting the objects, which is ‘to enhance awareness of African fine art, to demonstrate to young men and women the importance and profundity of their heritage, and to strengthen cultural self-esteem and respect for the Mother culture’? Self-discovery that appears to me to be the most important discovery, which if and when accessed births self-esteem, is the underlying goal of this exhibition,” said Anonyuo.
Peggy Blood, professor and exhibit coordinator at Savannah State University said “We invite students, children, families and the public to view these century old works and use them as catalysts, to instill pride of heritage and awareness of an effective cultural system that is based on unity, and personal and collective responsibility in order to build complimentary relationships.”

All three TV stations, Fox-WJCL, NBC-WSAV and CBS-WTOC covered the exhibit. Newspaper coverage was provide by the Savannah Herald, the Savannah Morning News, the Savannah Tribune, and the Tiger’s Roar who also covered the exhibit on its web edition. Several of the Motherhood sculptures were included in the festival brochure and magazine. Shirley Barber James, coordinator of Black Heritage Festival in Savannah, Georgia, said “we are pleased to present such a high caliber of art to the citizens of our community, and we are honored that Savannah [was] added to the tour of great cities.”

HERMAN BIGHAM AND ASSOCIATES
is a collective of primarily African Art presenters, Preservers & Scholars. Tens of thousands of viewers in Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Atlanta have enthusiastically welcomed exhibitions of rare and authentic African sculpture produced by Herman Bigham and Associates, Presenters and Preservers.

The response to The Majesty of African Motherhood by both the public and scholars has been overwhelmingly positive. At the opening reception on February 22nd Mr. Elliot Shelkrot, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia quoted a staff member: “Walking alone down these halls early in the morning between those silent, upright and watchful figures, is like being born again every morning and blessed into the day.”

Rosalind R. Jeffries, Ph.D, Professor, Author and a past curator with the Brooklyn Museum, metropolitan Museum of Art and the Center for African Arts in New York, commented, “without hesitation I can say the exhibition of traditional African art on the theme of motherhood organized by David Lawrence and Herman Bigham ranks high among excellent exhibitions. This world-class exhibition must travel to many other institutions to educate the awaiting thousands that need its overdue message.” Dr. Jeffries is currently working on a book about African motherhood which will reference the objects in the Bigham and Associates show.

“When we speak of maternity, we speak of motherhood, the whole story from the conception of a child, through its birth and nurturing. The nurturing may last, in fact do persist for as long as the mother lives, it never really stops. It is a true marriage, an enduring covenant, between mother and God. It is then this physical, spiritual and psychological connection of mother to child that the African traditional artist tries to make tangible in his maternity images.

All portrayals in this show suggest, opine, emphasize the inevitable, irreplaceable and incontestable role of the woman in the continued survival of the African person.

Enjoy your journey through the past, and especially, your conversations with the sages, the ancients whose wisdom designed, sculpted and sustains the 21st century African, both within continental Africa as well as the Diaspora,” concluded Anonyuo in his speech.

The Majesty of African Motherhood is currently being seen in its 7th venue at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina and will continue to travel extensively.

Further schedule for various exhibitions by Herman Bigham & Associates can be found below:

The Majesty of African Motherhood Exhibit

Six cities, four months duration each Starting March, 2005
Washington DC
Cincinnati OH
Louisville KY
Indianapolis IN
Detroit MI
Chicago IL