[ Update ]
Starting on Friday, October 23rd at 8:30AM volunteers began site preparation
and construction of the huts. A representative of "Safari Thatch and Bamboo"
trained the volunteer crew on the proper construction techniques, and Craig
Miller, NTAC community design specialist, supervised the construction.
Craig Miller said, "The creation of an African environment in the center
of a culturally rich neighborhood like Olivette Park is an inspiring process
both from a design and community perspective." The heroic efforts of all
those involved in the project was a remarkable showing of commitment to
the community, the arts and the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities
mission.
The Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities was founded by Miss Katherine Dunham in 1969. Through the arts, the Dunham Centers seek to achieve the "humanization and socialization of the individual and of the community as a whole." The Centers seek to guide and encourage residents toward a fuller awareness of themselves and their potential cultural contributions to society, while enabling them to develop a greater understanding of the cultural dynamic of others.
The Katherine Dunham Dynamic Museum houses an outstanding collection of symbolic and functional art from Africa, South America and the Pacific. The Museum has more than two hundred and fifty African and Caribbean art objects from more than fifty countries. Tapestries, paintings, sculpture, musical instruments, and ceremonial costumes from these and other areas of the world celebrate the human spirit. The Museum also displays costumes, photographs, programs, letters, and awards from Miss Dunham's long career as a dancer, choreographer, writer, teacher and dance company director. Fashion and set designs from John Pratt's illustrious theatrical career are also on display. Documents describing Miss Dunham's thirty years of art education and community-building activities in East St. Louis are also represented in the Museum's collection
Document author(s) : Patricia Nolan
Last modified: 23 November 1998, Deanna Koenigs
