‘Shuga & Wata’ is the patois pronunciation of Sugar & Water. We selected this as the title of our PFF-sponsored online artists’ discussion Salons because shuga & wata is a shared constant; a drink that exists in all post-Diaspora, New World cultures. Shuga & Wata alludes to the most basic kind of drink for those who are thirsty. It arcs back to sugar plantations in the Americas. We are invoking sugar itself, water itself, and what’s creatively nourishing about our presence, struggles, and contributions.
Shuga & Wata is a monthly forum. It is a sustaining mixture of relevant ideas and topics and is also a welcoming digital space in the era of social distancing. It is our mission to feature important artists, collectors, and scholars. We will address important cultural topics in Contemporary African American and Afro-global art. Our mission is to create an ongoing communion of ideas and quench our collective thirst with new scholarship and relevant conversations.
Featured Artist: Vanessa German
The Petrucci Family Foundation is excited to present the incomparable, and internationally recognized contemporary African-American artist, Vanessa German! Vanessa is our first ‘Featured Artist’ for our Shuga and Wata online Salon.
Vanessa invites us into the dimensional ecosystem of her practice; sharing her studio practice and ingredients their in centered in values of justice, hybridity, curiosity, craft, language-craft and magic.
Our hope is that this session becomes another valuable record of Vanessa’s intractable, humble yet indelible spirit as an artist.
October 15, 2020, 6:30PM EST
Register here: tinyurl.com/ShugaWata
Black Figuration
“In this renaissance of Black global figuration, is the market for Black bodies hyper-inflated? Are we really paying attention to the current aesthetic trends of commodifying ourselves?” These questions prompted the topic for our fifth episode of Shuga & Wata, “Black Figuration: The Rush to Own Black Bodies (Again).” There’s a lot to consider, and a lot to be said, so we’ve invited four of our brilliant friends to undertake this subject matter: Syd Carpenter, Lewis Tanner Moore, Dianne Smith, and Curlee Raven Holton.
August 20, 2020, 6:30PM EST
If you we unable to join us, we will be sharing the recording and transcribed conversation very soon.
Black Abstraction
The fourth session of Shuga and Wata is “Black Abstraction: Intelligent Languages of Form,” where we are joined by two masters of abstract painting: Juan Logan and Charles Burwell. In a market saturated with figuration, Logan and Burwell discuss the role and importance of abstraction, as well as how they respond to current crises and events through their art.
July 24, 2020, 12PM EST
If you we unable to join us, we will be sharing the recording and transcribed conversation very soon.
Reckoning
“Reckoning: Deconstructing and Transforming Race in America – Now” is the third conversation in our Shuga & Wata series. This week, we have invited Alfred Conteh, LaToya Hobbs, and Michael Dixon to discuss the different ways in which they grapple with representation in their work.
July 3, 2020, 2:00PM EST
If you we unable to join us, we will be sharing the recording and transcribed conversation very soon.
Speaking Black
“Speaking Black: Dialectics in Art During Cultural Upheaval” is our second Shuga & Wata conversation. We are thrilled to feature Adama Delphine Fawundu and Berette Macaulay, on Juneteenth 2020, for what is sure to be a powerful conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.
Jun 19, 2020, 12PM EST
Radical Forgiveness
Our very first Shuga & Wata conversation features Delita Martin, Willie Cole, and Charles Edward Williams who will discuss the idea of radical forgiveness in life, culture and how it can be achieved through art.
Jun 5, 2020, 12PM EST