The Southampton African American Museum (SAAM) hosts an opening reception for its new exhibit, BIPOC Experience. The event features a reading from poet Adriana Deversto to kick off the show and SAAM’s 2022 season.
BIPOC Experience is curated by photographer Jeremy Dennis, a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, and features works by:
- Lion Ayodele
- Ruby Bianchi
- Jeremy Dennis
- Nati Dred
- Kaysha Haile
- Brianna Hernandez
- Tomashi Jackson
- Sekou Luke
- David Bunn Martine
- Denise Silva-Dennis
- Gloria Smith
- Lyle Smith
- Tohanash Tarrant
In SAAM’s lower level, the exhibition runs through July 3. It is themed around the expression of hair and the fact that the Southampton African American Museum was an African American barbershop and gathering place.
The public reception, with complimentary refreshments, takes place Saturday, May 21, from 5 to 7:30 PM. The poetry reading is at 5:30 PM. It features Adriana Deversto, an author, educator, speaker, and cultural events coordinator born and raised in the Dominican Republic.
About Adriana Deversto
Deversto is the creator of Cuentos de Triadas INC — infusing arts and language to promote cultural awareness. Her published works include the poem “la negra del batey” published in the anthology “Mujeres de Palabra, Poética y Antología” (2010), and a book of her poetry, “Huellas de una Memoria Perdida” (2008).
Her bilingual children’s book, “Mi Chiquitica en Luna Llena My Little One in Full Moon” (2018), was recognized by Latino Literacy Now’s International Latino Book Awards in 2019. In addition, a book of short stories, “De cuento en cuento” (2018), examines the responsibility that each of us has in making our society a better place.
Her latest publication, “Todos a bailar!” (2020), celebrates Hispanic Heritage and the Dominican Republic’s merengue music.
Other ongoing exhibits
At 245 North Sea Road in Southampton, the museum is open Friday to Sunday for tours starting every half-hour from 11 AM; the last time begins at 2 PM. Please follow this link to schedule a tour.
And while you’re there, check out these ongoing exhibits:
Grooming a Generation
Upstairs at SAAM, visit “Grooming a Generation,” a history of Black barbershops and beauty parlors. This exhibit shines a light on the experiences that led Emanuel Seymore to build his establishment, which now houses SAAM, and how barbershops and beauty parlors became a natural gathering place to stay connected to culture and ideas.
Digital Tapestry
The new Digital Tapestry installation is funded by a $125,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
Accessible onsite using a smartphone, it supports SAAM’s mission to promote an understanding and appreciation of African American culture through programs that preserve the past, encourage learning, and enhance the community’s life.
The technology works off an actual tapestry that is one of the centerpieces of the SAAM, a work of art created by David Bunn Martine of the Shinnecock Nation. It depicts various scenes representative of Black history in Southampton.
The Digital Tapestry uses animation to recreate Pyrrhus Concer, who began his life enslaved, became a skilled steerer on the whaling ship Manhattan, was the first Black man to visit Japan and distinguished himself as a landowner and philanthropist in Southampton.
The narrative includes images of African Americans who left their homes in the South in droves to work on farms in the North — including on eastern Long Island — as part of the Great Migration of the middle of the 20th century. It also has depictions of juke joints and Randy’s Barber Shop, housed where the museum now stands in Southampton Village.
