ENTERTAINMENT
AFRICAN
DIVAS
Vendryes with her art of singer Janelle Monae at a subway station. Jacqueline Herranz-Brooks
Queens art project celebrates black female singers
Caribbean Life, Jan. 25–31, 2019 45
er By Alexandra Simon
A new outdoor art installation in
Queens celebrates some of the biggest
black female singers in entertainment.
Seven pieces from the “Standing
Ovation: African Diva Project,” will
adorn the lawn of the Jamaica Performing
Arts Center in Jamaica until
March 24. The project features large
cutouts of art created by Margaret
Rose Vendryes. The visual artist and
historian started the project more
than a decade ago with the unique
idea of reimagining black female
soloists throughout history wearing
African masks. Because several of
these women were not in control of
their images, Vendryes wanted to
create an alternate version of them.
“This project is my connection
to black women singers that I’ve
enjoyed, what they offer to life and
black people, and all people through
their sound, writing, and producing
albums,” she said. “But this is also a
critique on the choices they used to
sell music.”
The entirety of her project consists
of paintings of 45 singers. Vendryes,
along with seven other artists had
to choose a certain number of work
to display as part of the public artwork
proposal commissioned by the
Queens Council on the Arts to install
temporary art in parts of Jamaica and
Jackson Heights. She chose seven of
her paintings, which include: Aretha
Franklin, Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne,
Macy Gray, Tammi Terrell, Thelma
Houston, and Janelle Monae.
Continued on Page 46
Playwright Samantha Godfrey, who
is of Caribbean heritage, is one of
the eight playwrights whose plays
will be perfomed at “The Fire This
Time” festival at Kraine Theater Jan.
21–Feb. 3.
By Alexandra Simon
The annual “ The Fire this Time ”
festival returns for its 10th season at
the Kraine Theater in East Village on
Jan. 21. The two-week event, which celebrates
the work of black playwrights, is
featuring eight writers this year — the
most the festival has seen, according to
its founder and producer Kelley Girod.
To honor the milestone anniversary,
organizers will celebrate it with a panel
discussion on pertinent current issues,
Continued on Page 46
“Make It Work” by Tony A. Gaskins,
Jr.
c.2019, Howard Books
$26.00 / $35.00 Canada
240 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Marriage? Not interested.
Nope, you’ve tried it and it’s not
for you. Neither is love, apparently, as
evidenced by the string of awful dates
you’ve had lately. You know that having
a bad relationship is easy. Having
a good one takes effort, and it might
start with “Making It Work” by Tony A.
Gaskins, Jr.
You just want to be loved.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a
Continued on Page 46
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Building
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mon idea of reimagining black female The entirety of her project consists
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