Black Student Union Assembles Art Expo

Using works loaned by area museums and contributed by teachers, members of the Cleveland High School Black Student Union have assembled an African American Art Expo that classmates will view on Thursday.

The multimedia exhibit honors Black History Month by blending prerecorded African folk music and videotapes of the American civil-rights movement with paintings, sculptures, drawings and artifacts chronicling the journey from Africa to America.

Cleveland High teacher David Caesar, one of the show’s principal organizers, said the goal is “education and greater enlightenment as to the contributions made by African Americans.”

Response has so far been strong, he said, with the maximum of three classes a period for six periods signing up to attend.

The Orlando Gallery in Sherman Oaks and the Black American History Museum affiliated with USC both loaned pieces to the school. Teachers Frederick Mbanefo, Bassirou Thioune and Donna Hill contributed, as did parent Linda Johnson. The students did not create artworks for the show but Caesar said putting it all together has “stimulated their interest and enabled them to learn the geography of Africa.”

The school’s humanities magnet program has offered a curriculum over the last few weeks that connects thematically with the expo, Caesar said.