Garden City, NY - January 26th, 2015 - Thirteen African American Artists’ work will be on exhibit at the Bloomingdale’s Furniture Gallery in Roosevelt Field Mall in honor of Black History Month. The exhibit, Celebrating the African American Experience, is presented by Long Island Arts Alliance, Bloomingdale’s, the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce and the Long Island Black Artist Association. An Artists’ Reception will launch the exhibit on Wednesday, February 4 from 6-8 pm (R.S.V.P. for February 4, 2015 opening reception to info@liaacc.com) and visitors to the Furniture Gallery can enjoy the exhibit until February 31.
Maxine Townsend-Broderick, Past President and Current Vice President of the Long Island Black Artist Association writes, “The Long Island Black Artists Association is pleased to partner with Bloomingdale’s to showcase our work to a broad audience that may not otherwise have the opportunity to appreciate art influenced by the African-American experience.” Ms. Townsend-Broderick is also featured as February’s “Artist of the Month” at ArtsAliveLI.org, Long Island’s arts and cultural events website.
Celebrating the African American Experience is the result of a new collaboration between Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) and Bloomingdale’s, which offers area artists exhibit space and creates an interesting and diverse collection of new art to grace the walls of the Bloomingdale’s Furniture Gallery of Roosevelt Field Mall. “Bloomingdale’s is thrilled to honor and celebrate Black History Month with such special local partners,” says Anne Keating, Bloomingdale’s Senior Vice President of Public Relations, Special Events and Corporate Philanthropy. “It is extremely important for Bloomingdale’s to recognize the charitable work of organizations where we have stores. We strive to connect with diverse communities and support the talent within them.”
Theresa Statz-Smith, Executive Director of Long Island Arts Alliance says, “the Alliance works to support our region’s arts and arts education organizations, but also our local artists. Gallery space is at a premium on Long Island and we’re thrilled to partner with Bloomingdale’s, the Long Island Black Artist Association and the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce.”
Theresa Statz-Smith, Executive Director of Long Island Arts Alliance says, “the Alliance works to support our region’s arts and arts education organizations, but also our local artists. Gallery space is at a premium on Long Island and we’re thrilled to partner with Bloomingdale’s, the Long Island Black Artist Association and the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce.”
“Celebrating African America History is a significant milestone for the Long Island region, as a collaboration and as an illustration of the many triumphs, joys, and tribulations cultures overcome on their path to greatness. As we celebrate National Black History Month this art exhibition will add another thread to the fabric of our history as African Americans on Long Island,” says Phil Andrews, President, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce.
Other exhibits planned in 2015 include a Women’s History Month Exhibit in March and a Hispanic Heritage Month exhibit in September. These exhibits are part of the Arts Alive LI initiative of the Long Island Arts Alliance to shine a spotlight on the region’s arts and culture. Interested artists and arts organizations should visit the “Art Market” at ArtsALiveLI.org to sign up for a weekly e-blast that includes Request for Art (RFA) opportunities.
Additional support of Celebrating the African American Experienceis provided by MSC Industrial Supply Company and Martha Clara Vineyards.
About Bloomingdale’s
Bloomingdale’s is America’s only nationwide, full-line, upscale department store and a division of Macy’s, Inc. It was founded in 1872 and currently operates 34 Bloomingdale’s stores and 13 Bloomingdale’s, The Outlet Stores in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, California, and Texas. In addition, Bloomingdale’s has an international presence with a location in Dubai. Be sure to follow @bloomingdales on social media, become a Loyallist, and for more information, or to shop any time, visit www.bloomingdales.com.
About the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (LIAACC)
The Mission of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., is to advance and promote economic development for business, and to advance responsive government and quality education on the behalf of all small businesses, with emphasis on African Ancestry, while preserving the Long Island community. Long Island means the New York State counties on Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Kings. A Chamber of Commerce is one of the most well known and recognizable organizations in the country chartered to stimulate business in local and regional areas where they are designated to serve.
About the Long Island Black Artist Association
The Long Island Black Artist Association was founded in 1968 by a small group of artists namely, James Counts and Ernest Snell, Raymond Miles, and Charles Winslow. The purpose of the association is to help African-American artists find a conduit for the exhibition of their work. To that end it has continually sought new venues for exhibiting the work of its members locally, nationally and internationally and has also encouraged the artist’s individual efforts to find recognition. The organization has also had other goals; to provide an atmosphere of fellowship in which professional and semi-professional artists could exchange ideas, techniques and mutual support in the field of visual arts; to discover potential talent; to provide a cultural service to the community and offer a “sensitive environment” for the cultural expression of the larger African-American community. The Association is the only such supportive group in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk.
About MSC Industrial Supply Co.
MSC Industrial Supply Co. is one of the largest distributors of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations (“MRO”) supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States. MSC employs one of the industry’s largest sales forces and distributes approximately 600,000 industrial products from approximately 3,000 suppliers. In-stock availability is approximately 99%, with next day standard delivery to the contiguous United States on qualifying orders up until 8 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information, visit MSC’s website at www.mscdirect.com.
About Long Island Arts Alliance
Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) is a network of the region’s not-for-profit arts, cultural and arts education organizations, promoting awareness of and participation in Long Island’s world-class arts and cultural institutions. Formed in 2003, LIAA offers diverse support services to arts organizations, serves as an advocate for arts education in our schools and collaborates on strategies for economic development and community revitalization. Initiatives of the Alliance include the LIAA Scholar-Artist Awards, the LIAA Arts Education Roundtable and Arts Alive LI. Visit www.longislandartsalliance.org and www.ArtsALiveLI.org to find arts and culture events.
