Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Community Folk Art Center Celebrates 50 Years of Community, Service and Collaboration with Award Ceremony and Ailey II Performance

Tuesday, December 13, 2022, By Cameron Kline
Share
alumniCollege of Arts and SciencesCommunity Folk Art Center

The Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), a unit of the Department of African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, continued its 50th anniversary celebration recently by honoring its community and supporters and highlighting the creative arts with a visually stunning and empowering performance by Ailey II.

marquee outside of theater

The Community Folk Art Center continued its 50th anniversary celebration recently by honoring its community and supporters and highlighting the creative arts with a mpowering performance by Ailey II.

At the Oct. 27 event, CFAC recognized the following community partners, supporters and area leaders for their support and dedication to the center and youth:

  • Carol Charles ’84: Artist, educator administrator; the former executive director of the Dance Theater of Syracuse; and a Syracuse University alumna
  • Vanessa Johnson: Griot, one-woman performer, musician and visual arts educator
  • The Syracuse (NY) Chapter of the Links Incorporated: One of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of African American women and persons of African ancestry
  • London Ladd ’06, G’22: Influential artist, author, the creator of a 2021 alumni mural titled “Coming Back Together” and a Syracuse University alumnus
  • Charles Haislah: Educator, internationally renowned ballet dancer and director, and creator of the DanceLab at CFAC
  • Founders: Herbert T. Williams, Shirley Harrison, Jack White, George Campbell Jr., Mary Schmidt Campbell, David MacDonald and Basheer Alim

Awardees received a specially commissioned commemorative bowl or plate created by award-winning designer David McDonald and featuring CFAC’s logo.

The celebration and performance, featuring emerging dance talent and artistic director Francesca Harper and the company’s renowned piece “Revelations” took place at the historic Landmark Theatre in downtown Syracuse. Ailey II is nationally celebrated for bringing together early-career talent with emerging choreographers. Their signature work is “Revelations” which uses spirituals, gospel songs, and holy blues to explore the deepest emotions of the soul.

“Ailey II’s performance was certainly a proud part of our 50th anniversary, but it was also a way to continue CFAC’s mission to connect diverse communities—no matter age, gender, race or exposure to dance and the arts—to our collective, universal language of creativity and the exploration of the African diaspora,” says Tanisha M. Jackson, Ph.D., executive director of CFAC, creator of Black Arts Speak, professor of African American studies and one of the evening’s emcees. “Our anniversary celebration will continue through in-person and online events, so we hope many more can join our community during this special year for us.”

The theater was nearly at capacity with supporters from the University, City of Syracuse and the arts community. Additionally, much to the appreciation of organizers and those in attendance, about 350 students from the Syracuse City School District took in the event and performance. Their presence was not just an educational and entertainment experience—many of the students are interested in the visual and performing arts—but a fulfillment of CFAC’s community-focused mission and the creative exploration of the African diaspora.

Public programming offered year-round by CFAC includes exhibitions, film screenings, gallery talks, workshops and courses in studio and performing arts, and more. CFAC also offers a robust Creative Arts Academy that provides a gateway to the arts to middle school and high school students in the community.

CFAC was founded in 1972 by the late Herbert T. Williams, professor of African American studies at Syracuse University, in collaboration with other faculty, students, local artists and residents of the City of Syracuse. CFAC is an incubator for diverse community programming and the creative exploration of the African diaspora. It is dedicated to celebrating cultural and artistic pluralism by collecting, exhibiting, teaching and interpreting the visual and expressive arts. To learn more, visit the CFAC website.

  • Author

Cameron Kline

  • Recent
  • College of Visual and Performing Arts Welcomes New Full-Time Faculty
    Monday, September 25, 2023, By Erica Blust
  • School of Education Faculty Publish ‘Lesson Study With Mathematics and Science Preservice Teachers’
    Sunday, September 24, 2023, By Martin Walls
  • Water Main Break Near Bird Library to Be Repaired Monday
    Sunday, September 24, 2023, By News Staff
  • University Musicians, West Point Band to Perform Together This Weekend As Part of Events Around Military Appreciation Day
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Christine Weber
  • Turning Young Enthusiasts Into Scientific Researchers
    Friday, September 22, 2023, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Arts & Culture

Annual Lecture Honoring Physics Professor Kameshwar C. Wali to Be Held on Oct. 5

The Wali Lecture is an annual event where the sciences and humanities converge, fostering dialogue and new perspectives on current topics for all who attend. The 2023 Kashi and Kameshwar C. Wali Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 5, will honor the…

University to Hold Public Symposium Exploring Role of Monuments in Society

Scholars, artists, curators, activists, local historians and members of the public will convene at Syracuse University Oct. 6-7 to discuss the rightful place of monuments in our society and the increasing complexity they represent today in terms of their cultural,…

Human Rights Film Festival: Changing the World, One Conversation at a Time

From the rural landscape of Michigan, to the devastated landscape of Bucha in the Ukraine, to the virtual landscape of the African diaspora, filmmakers address social issues and the fight for human rights around the globe at the 21st annual…

20 Years of Syracuse Symposium

Even if you haven’t participated in Syracuse Symposium offerings yet, the intriguing and provocative annual themes still may have caught your eye. Topics like Justice (2007-08), Identity (2011-12), Repair (2022-23) and this year’s Landscapes, offer a kaleidoscopic platform for timely…

La Casita to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month With New Exhibition

La Casita Cultural Center, located at 109 Otisco St. in Syracuse, will mark the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 with a community-wide event and exhibition opening on Friday, Sept. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition, “Futurismo…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.