News Release

June 18, 1998

Black Heritage Celebration Exhibition
Opens At John Wayne Airport

O.B. Schooley, Director of the John Wayne Airport is pleased to announce the opening of the latest Airport Arts Program exhibition, "Black Heritage Celebration: Ancestors and African American Art." The exhibition which opened May 11, 1998 focuses on the influence of African culture on the African American artist.

"Consider this," said Cecil Fergerson, Guest Curator for the exhibition and a Community Curator of African American History, Art and Culture, "the majority of African American artists had little or no direct exposure to African culture; yet their artwork showed a profoundly inherent influence of African culture." Fergerson selected 10 artists from the Orange and Los Angeles County areas for the exhibition including Cedric Adams, Aziz, Joseph Beckles, Varnette Honeywood, Willie Robert Middlebrook, Noni Olabisi, Charles Dickson, Michael Massenburg, John Offutt and Thomas J. Vercher.

The Kidseum of the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana has provided a fascinating variety of masks and ceremonial artifacts that support and illustrate the ancestral aspect of the exhibit.

Air travelers, Airport visitors and the Orange County community are invited to view this powerful, highly expressive display located on the Departure Level of the Thomas F. Riley Terminal opposite Gates 1 through 4 and 11 through 14. The exhibition is on display through September 20, 1998.

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