The Camden Archives and Museum and the African-American Cultural Center of Camden will welcome Yvonne James-Brown for a program this Saturday, March 9 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Robert Mills Courthouse, 607 Broad St., Camden, South Carolina.
“During her program, which will include a question and answer session, those in attendance will learn of her passion for the arts and why this creative outlet is important in understanding and interpreting our history and our communities,” Camden Archives and Museum Director Katherine Richardson said in a press release.
Brown is a freelance teaching artist based in Buffalo, N.Y. Her passion is working with youth and young performers in nurturing their creative expression through artistic discipline. From her professional training as a dancer, Brown brings her extensive background to workshops, residencies, and master classes which she conducts in a variety of settings, such as schools, colleges, and community arts programs.
Brown holds a Master of Education degree with major areas in curriculum development and instructional media from State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. She currently serves as an adjunct dance faculty member in the Arts and Humanities Department at SUNY Empire State College. She is also a distinguished guest artist with the Creative Dance for Children and Pleie Dance Company of Western New York. She was one of the founding faculty of the dance program for the Buffalo Academy or Arts Magnet School. It was her work there which earned the recognition of Disney Teacher of the Year Honoree Award. The award presented the opportunity for her students to be featured in a performance on the Disney Channel. Her extensive credentials are fully listed on the African American Cultural Center of Camden’s Facebook page, where they can be viewed in their entirety.
“It is my personal belief that all art forms are shaped by the world around them,” Brown said. “The beautiful, the grotesque, the joy, the pain, the historic, the contemporary, and the visionary are some of the many dimensions of the human experience that artists express through their work … Artists are society’s antennae. They perceive the world in all of its many facets and then, through their creative juices, interpret and make sense of it for those around them. Our human experience throughout time has been captured through the arts. African American artists have been challenged throughout history to have their voices heard and their stories told. All artists search for truth in their work [and] the creative expression for many African American artists has been to reflect the truth of the black experience through the many art forms of music, dance, visual art, film, and media.”
Richardson said the archives and African-American center look forward to welcoming James-Brown to Camden on Saturday. The program is free and open to the public. A light reception will follow the program and discussion. For more information call the archives at (803) 425-6050.
