Black History Month Dinner

            The Harlem Renaissance will be coming to the museum this Thursday, Feb. 21, as we honor Harold Rittenberry and the late Rudolph Byrd at this year’s Black History Month Dinner. The theme of the annual event is “Harlem Renaissance: A Sampler.” Vintage décor from Agora, a vintage and antiques store in downtown Athens, will contribute to the feel.

            The evening will start off with a gallery talk led by Paul Manoguerra, the museum’s chief curator and curator of American art, on the exhibition, “William H. Johnson: An American Modern.” Following that will be a seated dinner catered by Epting Events, as well as cocktails and desserts. Entertainment, including a performance by singer Monica Kaufman-Pearson, a retired WSB-TV anchor in Atlanta and a current graduate student in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, will add to overall theme and feel of the evening.

Harold Rittenberry

            Both men, Rittenberry and Byrd, have greatly contributed to the arts and culture in their communities. Rittenberry will receive the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award and Byrd the Lillian C. Lynch Citation. Rittenberry, born and raised in Athens and a self-taught artist, has metalwork sculptures throughout the state. Byrd, a long-time professor at Emory University, founded the James Weldon Johnson Institute at Emory in 2007, which studies the modern civil rights movement, and served as director of the department of African American Studies for a decade. Both men’s work and contributions express the efforts of both the Thompsons and Lynch.

            This will be an evening that you will not want to miss. Tickets are $45 per person and reservations are requested. We still have tickets left, so call 706.542.0830 to reserve your spot.