NBAF: Color of Culture

National Black Arts Festival paints the town

It’s a woman-centric world at the National Black Arts Festival this year, so it makes sense that it’s finally found a home. The Woodruff Arts Center has agreed to host the festival for the next five years, and though there are still events occurring at other places around town, the Woodruff Center is home base.

And what events they are. The programming this year emphasizes female artists, from textile artist Faith Ringgold to feminist scholar bell hooks; from poet Sonia Sanchez to actress Diahann Carroll.

For a guide to those don’t-miss events, check out CL’s recommendations, including a performance by hip-hop dance troupe Rennie Harris Puremovement (below); Hottentot Venus author Barbara Chase-Riboud’s reading and lecture; True Colors Theatre Company’s gospel musical Tambourines to Glory; the Pan-African Film Festival’s screenings of the documentary Afro-Punk; and a concert by Tania Leòn’s Son Sonora Ensemble.