Come and Discover Your Memories with 'Juke Joint!'
It was a time when gin was sold in Dixie cups for fifty cents a shot. Pickled Pigs Feet, Moon Pies, and peanuts dumped in an R.C. Cola were staples, and Murray’s cookies were a treat.Parents sent their children to pay on their overdue grocery bill, avoiding any arguments about past due balances. The jukebox was a Wurlitzer. Mr. Piccolo, the white man, would come by every other week to take the coins and change the records. “Mr. Big Stuff” was a favorite. So was Otis Redding’s “Mr. Pitiful.”
Willie Little’s “Juke Joint,” now on exhibit at the YMI Cultural Center, is a room-size installation made of love and squalor and powerful memories that are both familiar and endearing. The dynamic, interactive exhibit depicts the life of the artist’s father, including studies of the colorful patrons of Little’s Grocery in the late 1960s. It has traveled to more than a dozen venues throughout the United States, including to the Smithsonian Arts & Industries Gallery where more than 305,000 visitors experienced the installation in 2003.
“Juke Joint: An Installation by Willie Little” will remain on exhibit through March 28, 2010. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weekend hours by appointment only. General admission for the exhibit is $5.
(Left) Somehow simple food-stuffs always got us by. (Right) Sista’ and Ms. Odell always hung around the Juke Box. They always had a reason to sing, dance, shout, and cry! Photos: Urban News
Arts & EntertainmentInternational Ambassador of Hip-Hop, Rennie Harris PuremovementWednesday, 11 January 2012
The preeminent hip-hop dance company in the world, Rennie Harris Puremovement brings pure, contagious stage magic to Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, February 23-24, 2012.
Win Tickets to this Performance!
Click here for details + Full Story
Arts & EntertainmentWin Tickets to the Rennie Harris Puremovement performanceTuesday, 10 January 2012
For Local Middle School or High School Students Only
Question: Please tell us in 200 words or less why Hip-Hop should be considered an art form. Your essay will be judged by the staff of the Urban News, and featured in the February edition, along with your picture. The... + Full Story
Our TownThe People’s Scholar, Dr. Boyce Watkins, to Keynote Prayer BreakfastWednesday, 11 January 2012
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County announced that Dr. Boyce Watkins will give the keynote address at the 31st annual Prayer Breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The breakfast will be the highlight of a series of events from Wednesday,... + Full Story
Our TownGetting to Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competence in Multicultural EnvironmentsWednesday, 11 January 2012
by Don C. Locke
Why “getting to?” Every organization is dynamic in terms of diversity and inclusion. Every organization is in the process of becoming diverse and inclusive. If we really believe in the importance of all people and groups, then every organization has room to... + Full Story
CommunitiesMLK Week Events & CelebrationsWednesday, 11 January 2012
31st Annual Prayer Breakfast - 8:30 a.m.
The Prayer Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Grand
Ballroom of the historic Grove Park Inn & Resort at 290 Macon
Avenue. Guest speaker Dr. Boyce Watkins will be joined by the Unity
& Fellowship Choir and other distinguished guests.... + Full Story
