Black Arts Festival Increases Profits

The Fifth Annual Black Arts Festival drew record profits and attendance figures in a series of artistic performances, visual art exhibits, film screenings and a forum last weekend.

Maya R. Payne ’02, co-chair of the Festival, estimated that it earned over $2,000 more than last year’s festival.

Although exact numbers were not available, approximately 1,000 people attended this year’s festival, Payne said.

“We had to turn several people away, and some of those people still bought tickets to donate to us,” said Marvin C. Pittman ’02, development director of the Festival.

Payne said organizers faced difficulty in early fundraising efforts because of a significant increase in the festival’s scale and a decrease in donations following Sept. 11 but “filled the gap that was missing with private donations,” according to Payne.

The Festival received University funding as well as sponsorship by corporations including Showtime, JP Morgan, Charles Schwab and Goldman Sachs.

Payne said this year’s festival was able to branch out to a broader base.

“We were able to reach more graduate students, Boston community members, Faculty and administrators,” she said.

Kuumba member Mwashuma K. Nyatta ’02 said an increased audience base from Junior Parents’ Weekend may have contributed to the diversity of Festival attendees.

According to Melanie L. Forbes ’02, president of Kuumba Singers, organizers were excited to showcase the Festival to a larger group—although she said this year’s audience remained primarily black.

“It was cool to see the other members of the community coming together to appreciate our talents and see what we do,” she said.

This year’s Film Festival screened 18 films, up from nine in 2001, Payne said. Other expansions included the introduction of a student film competition, which attracted competitors from across the country.

Festival attendees screened Showtime Network’s Black Filmmaker Showcase, featuring six short films by aspiring African-American filmmakers, late Saturday afternoon.

In “Roots and Revision,” a performing arts showcase Saturday night at Lowell Lecture Hall, The Kuumba Singers performed with Sidra Bell Dance New York and the Capoeira Ensemble of the Brazilian Cultural Center of New England.

Friday’s events included a forum entitled “Invisibility to Commodity? Constructions of Black Women in Art and Media,” featuring Emmy Award Winner and Academy Award nominee Callie Crossley and Professor of History and Afro-American Studies Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.

Phillip A. Goff ’99, former president of Kuumba Singers, founded the Black Arts Festival in 1998 as a series of concerts to celebrate the 25-year career of Kuumba Singers Director Robert Winfrey.