December 10, 2015 

LAWT News Service 

 

This December, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science’s (CDU) Assistant Professor Cynthia Davis will curate the 35th Annual Black Doll Show at The William Grant Still Arts Center. The exhibit will feature work by local artists, including hand-made dolls, altars, National Names Project Quilts, sculptures, and a video preview of a relevant documentary focusing on African American women living with HIV/AIDS in the South. 

 

The Black Doll Show at The William Grant Still Arts Center, started in 1980, was inspired by the “Black Doll Test” conducted in the 1940's by pioneering psychologists Mamie and Kenneth Clark which concluded that many African-American children preferred playing with white dolls over black dolls. This year’s theme focuses on the negative impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on women of color on a local, national and global basis.

 

“Through art and discussion, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and our partners hope to raise awareness of both the prevalence and plight of women of color living with HIV/AIDS,” said Cynthia Davis, Professor at CDU. “Too many women of color are living with shame and in isolation. It is time we break the silence and empower individuals to know their status and get treatment, care, and support.”

 

Artists will include community members: Allyson Allen, Floyd Bell, Cynthia Davis, Ofelia Esparza, Bernard Hoyes, Ingrid Humphrey, Gary Jones, Mary Kimbrough, Ramsess, Joey Terrill, Stormy Weather, and art work and/or dolls solicited from clients from His Sheltering Arms, the Alcoholism Center for Women, T.H.E. Health and Wellness Centers and Holman United Methodist Church’s HOPE Ministry.

 

The event is made possible by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, ABACT Women's Sub-Committee, Alcoholism Center for Women, Association of Black Women Physicians, Black Women for Wellness, California Black Women’s Health Project, Charles R. Drew University, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Inglewood Alumnae Chapter, His Sheltering Arms, and the William Grant Still Art Center. 

 

 

 

Category: Community