Museum Of Fine Arts Celebrating Juneteenth With Outdoor Programs, Activities
BOSTON (CBS) - On Saturday, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is holding a day of outdoor programs and activities to celebrate Juneteenth and to honor the city's Black artists and creative voices.
"This is a moment of reckoning that says that there should be a commemoration for the liberation of Black people as slaves in this country and I think any moment we that have to appreciate our freedoms but also to recognize that there's still a lot of work to do and we need to be a part of that work," said Makeeba McCreary, Chief of Learning and Community Engagement at the MFA.
The MFA's Juneteenth activities will include art making, a concert curated by BAMS Fest, a film screening of "Summer of Soul" and spotlight talks on the artwork of the MFA's artist-in-residence Rob Stull, who is responsible for the banners paying tribute to Basquiat hanging outside of the museum.
"It's always important to give a nod to the ancestors. They're incorporated in everything I do and the art that I do. Just as hip hop is and hip hop culture," said Stull.
"We have some really important conversations that are taking place and I think evidence of that in the galleries and in our upcoming exhibition schedule as well," said McCreary.
Saturday's event is free to the public from 10am to 10pm, and marks the first in-person community celebration at the museum in over a year.
"This is a place of convening. This is a place where we hope people find themselves both with family, with friends but also with strangers, and I think Juneteenth being the moment in time where that happens but also as the city reopens is a really important moment," said McCreary.
"It's also I think a strong symbol to the community to be true to yourself, follow your dreams and your goals and one day you might have your artwork on the front of a major cultural institution," said Stull.
For more on the MFA's Juneteenth event, visit: https://www.mfa.org/event/community-celebrations/juneteenth