For Randolph Edward Weston ( April 6 , 1926 – September 1 , 2018 )
With the passing of the musical artist and cultural icon Randy Weston , it is appropriate to draw a parallel between his exemplar life and art and those of the artists in the exhibit Race , Myth , Art and Justice . In doing so , we have an opportunity to celebrate their attempts at making this world a better and more beautiful place . Like legendary jazz master Randy Weston , all of the artists in the exhibition have chosen to use those very qualities named in the exhibit title to inform and activate their art . Like Weston , our artists — Kwesi Abbensetts , Faisal Abdu ’ Allah , Terry Boddie , John E . Dowell , Jr ., Adama Delphine Fawundu , Jonathan Gardenhire , Deborah Jack , Zoraida Lopez-Diago , Radcliffe Roye , Ming Smith , Stan Squirewell , and Deborah Willis — have all honored their African or African Diasporic heritages in theme , style , and practice . Like Weston , they all celebrate and utilize the power of myth in the formation and transformation of history , sense of self and contemporary society . For his 92 years of dedication to the highest artistic and ethical ideals , Weston received hundred of awards both national and international , including being named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts , the highest official musical award in the United States . Like Weston all of these artists have been recognized in their home countries , as well as abroad , for the quality of their ideas in addition to the technical brilliance of their artwork . And finally , like Randy Weston , the artists in Race , Myth , Art and Justice realize that it is their responsibility to use their tremendous talents in the pursuit of justice for humanity and the environment , fulfilling a spiritual and moral obligation to make this world a better place for us now and for the future .
C . Daniel Dawson Co-Curator , Race , Myth , Art and Justice
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