The National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA) is a center in
Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts
Roxbury () is a neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts.
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for neighborhood services coordination. The city states that Roxbury se ...
founded in 1968 by
Elma Lewis
Elma Ina Lewis (September 15, 1921 – January 1, 2004) was an American arts educator and the founder of the National Center of Afro-American Artists and The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts. She was one of the first recipients of a MacArt ...
to "preserv
and foster the cultural arts heritage of black peoples worldwide through arts teaching, and the presentation of professional works in all fine arts disciplines." Although the organization's name specifies
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
artists, the organizational mandate includes all
African diasporic art. The NCAAA is the largest independent black cultural arts institution in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, United States. Its alumni have distinguished themselves in the performing arts internationally.
History and founding
The
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
subsumed Lewis' previously launched
Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts
Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts (ELSFA) was founded in 1950 by Elma Lewis. The school, based in Roxbury, Boston, provided classes in a variety of artistic, social, and cultural topics, including art, dance, drama, music, and costuming. Lewis founded ...
. Since 1950, the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts has served Boston citizens of all ages. Its alumni have distinguished themselves in the performing arts internationally. In the 1990s, the NCAAA completely renovated and expanded the 34,000 square foot building with its studios, auditorium, cafeteria, offices and classrooms. The school continued to serve as an educational and cultural center, it has been a hub of forums, receptions and civil programs of community interests.
At its founding, the NCAAA was housed in a former
firehouse
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
in
Franklin Park,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The museum was moved to a separate building in 1980 and is now located at the
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.
Two fires in the early 1980s significantly damaged the firehouse, where the NCAAA was housed, although collections stored at the museum, which had its own facility, were unharmed.
[NCAAA History](_blank)
Harriet Forte Kennedy
Harriet Arline Forte Kennedy (November 22, 1931 – February 12, 1994) was an American museum administrator, sculptor, and singer.
Early life and education
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kennedy was educated in local schools before attendi ...
served as the assistant director of the museum for some time.
Activities
Activities of the NCAAA have included:
* Establishment and maintenance of a museum;
* Hosting arts performances ("Black Musical Productions" and others) and exhibitions, individually and in collaboration with other fine arts museums in Boston;
* Offering arts education programs to a variety of students (professional, community primary students, and local prisoners).
Publications
See also
*
List of museums focused on African Americans
This is a list of museums in the United States whose primary focus is on African American culture and history. Such museums are commonly known as African American museums. According to scholar Raymond Doswell, an African American museum is "an ...
References
External links
NCAAA website*Th
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
*Th
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
*Th
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
*Th
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
Further reading
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Arts organizations established in 1968
Arts centers in Massachusetts
African-American arts organizations
Organizations based in Boston
Art museums established in 1968
1968 establishments in Massachusetts
African-American museums in Massachusetts