The CCAC Homewood Brushton Center honored Black excellence in style at its second annual Black Excellence Gala on Wednesday night, marking the end of Black History Month with a powerful celebration. The evening also featured a special tribute to Dr. Ralph Proctor with the dedication of the African American Heritage Room in his name.
The second floor of CCAC was bustling with around 80 guests who enjoyed the showcase and celebration of multiple forms of Black artistry. The halls were filled with sculptures, paintings, handcrafted jewelry, live painting, floral arrangements and more.
Throughout the night, there was live art, performances by a hip-hop violinist Toni Adebayo, a live portrait of Thomas-Smith drawn by J. Walker, a West African drum circle and an opera selection by Michele Bankole, a member of Demaskus Theater.
The event was a collaboration between Dr. Juel Thomas-Smith, Dean at the Homewood Brushton Center; Pittsburgh First Lady Michelle Gainey and Fantasy Zellars.
“It is important to have something that shows creativity and culture collide … we know this event has all aspects of art and all generations, from first graders to senior citizens,” Thomas-Smith said.“That is not something we do often: show off the beauty of our culture, and we can all come together. It doesn’t just have to be the elite or the hip-hop generation.”
Weaver LaVerne Kemp was at the gala as an artist and vendor for the second year — she is also an educator.
“Any time we can educate the public, it’s a good thing,” she said.
Kemp has been weaving and creating art for the past 47 years. She said it is her life and purpose. “I laugh and say I raised a whole son off of doing this,” she said.
Gainey attributed the great turnout of the event to artists bringing their communities along, such as Phillip Thompson or DJ “Big Phil,” who is also an archivist of Black comic strips. Thompson recently closed his exhibition “Collections in Black: A Celebration of Black Comic Book Culture” at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.
“When I was younger, we did not have these types of events that were centered around artists,” said Gainey, who is from Homewood. “Every opportunity we have and can create an opportunity, we invite every artist we know.”
Pamela Francis of Penn Hills was excited about the exhibition and attended with her daughter. “This is just a beautiful way to celebrate Black History Month. When my daughter was younger, we always did several things during the month to keep our history,” Francis said.
Artist and wood carver Ernest Bey was born and raised in Homewood. “It’s nice to be in the community. We have to remember so much Black art occurs here, like the Black Arts Festival and Harambee … as a youth, I had a lot of inspiration from the arts I saw here,” Bey said.