Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center
North Brentwood, Maryland
The Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center in North Brentwood, Maryland, just a few miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C., is about more than art. It’s about more than culture. It’s about more than history.
“We’re not only displaying historical artifacts; we’re also trying to light fire to the Prince George’s art community,” said Chanel Compton, director of education for the museum.
There, visitors will find a permanent collection and rotating exhibits that feature African-American artists. Current exhibits include “Momentum: Sculptures by Huey Gaddy,” which runs through January 20. Gaddy is known for making large, curving, abstract sculptures that convey a sense of motion.
A recent exhibit that ended September 30 was “Blazz: Works on Blues and Jazz by Ulysses Marshall.” Marshall is a mixed-media collage artist and painter who, in “Blazz,” explored the historic relationship between jazz and blues music and “the African-American experience.”
Part of the museum’s efforts to “light the fire” is doing community outreach and providing educational programs, including art workshops that allow participants to make their own art pieces and “leave with a piece they’ve made to take home with them as a part of their experience,” Compton said.
When groups visit the museum, they can follow up their tour with an arts workshop that relates directly to the exhibits they just experienced, Compton said. For example, while the “Blazz” exhibit is showing, workshops would focus on mixed-media collage. Because gallery space is tight, the 90-minute workshops are limited to 15 people.
