NYC: Exhibition
Black President:
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
@ New Museum

Black President:
The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
July 11 - September 28, 2003

Musician and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti created Afrobeat, the infectious fusion of American jazz and funk with the African rhythms of highlife music. Through politically-charged lyrics, electrifying stage performances, and his counter-culture lifestyle, Fela preached against social injustice and corruption. Since his death in 1997 from an AIDS-related illness, Fela's status as a pan-African icon has continued to grow.

Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti presents the many sides of Fela - musical pioneer, political dissident, utopian visionary, consummate showman, husband and lover - through works of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media and sound installation, video, film, computer animation and music by 30 artists of the African Diaspora. Artists include Sanford Biggers, Kendell Geers, Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. D.J. Spooky), Yinka Shonibare, Kara Walker and Klaus Bürgel, Fred Wilson, Wangechi Mutu, and many others.

Black President is guest curated by Trevor Schoonmaker. Fela Film Screenings: Music is the Weapon and Red Hot + Riot: Encounters with AIDS in Africa Thursday, August 7, 2003 6-9PM View two critical films that illuminate Fela's life and the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

http://www.newmuseum.org/now_upcoming.php