Season of Black Art & San Francisco Black Film Festival Celebrate Black Film & Theatre with EXPRESS YOURSELF

It's lights cameras and action as The African American Art & Culture Complex, home from which over  200 emerging and unsung artists launched the new arts series, “The Season of Black Art (SOBA), focuses of Black Film in partnership with the San Francisco Black Film Festival along with a call to action for stories and an offer of free family portraits to capture the importance  of family during the holiday season.

Launched on Sunday October 29th.  “Season of Black Art” continues monthly events through February 2024.

The African American Art & Culture Complex, co-directed by sisters Melorra Green and Melonie Green, affectionately known as “The Twins,” has created an atmosphere of homecoming and housewarming to share the renovations that have occurred at the center with its signature new “Season of Black Art.”

“Season of Black Art,” is directed by San Francisco native, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., who co-founded the award-winning production company, SFBATCO, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company, known for creating new art and cultural collaborations like “The New Roots Theater Festival, founded by Jackson.

The purpose of the series is to give an elevated platform to uplift unsung artists whose art otherwise would have been overlooked had it not been for Mayor London Breed's visionary creation of the Dream Keepers Initiative.

On Saturday, December 9, 6-10 p.m., the public is invited to join Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Director of “The  Season of Black Art (SOBA) ; Melorra Green and Melonie Green, Executive Directors of AAACC; Cree Ray, third-generation Executive Director of the San Francisco Black Film Festival; filmmakers and theatrical performers as “Season of Black Art” Celebrates Black Film & Theatre: EXPRESS YOURSELF.

“The San Francisco Black Film Festival is excited to partner with AAACC and the Season of Black Art as we continue our year-long celebration, “ said Cree Ray, third-generation Executive Director of the San Francisco Black Film Festival. “It's like being at home.  My grandmother Ave Montague who founded the festival had film screenings and even her Juneteenth Inner Beauty Pageant kickoff right here at the African American Arts & Culture Center.  I am continuing the trajectory started by my grandmother and carried on my father, Kali O'Ray,” added Ray.

With partners like the San Francisco Black Film Festival, we are affirming our history of expanding horizons for underserved artists and also opening doors for current and future artists like the AAACC cohort of over 200 unsung artists and businesses,” said Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr., Director of the Season of Black Art and founder of the San Francisco Bay Area  Theatre Company.  

Artists who have been among the cohort of incubated individuals and grassroots arts organizations at the AAACC will present their art to the Black community, all communities of San Francisco and the world during the five-month series to further expand their reach and artistic prowess. The universal appeal of art and its power of healing benefits all peoples.

“The Season of Black Art” series has been deemed as a“house warming party” or in a sense, a “homecoming celebration” spanning five months as it gives the community of the Fillmore and wider San Francisco and visiting tourists and opportunity to see how the three-floor building has been transformed via the input of local artists. See the AAACC Transformative Tour with New Conservatory Theater Center.  Centered in the Fillmore, AAACC is open for all to attend events and host events for all of San Francisco and its visitors.  It is another stop on San Francisco Tours.

“The Season of Black Art” is affirmation of the continuum of service AAACC has meant to the arts world and signifies its emergence from the impact of COVID-19 that nearly decimated the arts world-wide.

The arts have a major impact on the economy in San Francisco and worldwide; so, uplifting the emerging artists of the AAACC cohort to survive COVID and its aftermath, makes a stronger community of artists and a stronger economy.

The rising tide of the Dream Keepers Initiative is uplifting all of the beneficiaries to a stronger position and sustainability.

In alignment with the "Dream Keepers" theme, the Saturday, December 9th edition of Season of Black Art calls for the public's dreams and family photos.
 
The American Arts & Culture Complex wants to know your dreams! It's happening in the Recording Studio from 6pm to 8pm at Season of Black Arts: Celebrate Black Theatre + Film. Attendees can contribute to the AAACC's Black Dreams Archive. The Black Dreams archive is focused on Black people, but it is an experience that can be shared by all races.

Given friends and families and the intersection of all people through friendship, marriage, work, recreation and life in general, all races can also share their Black Dream via their Black connection. Contributing your stories will aid the AAACC in being a home for Black Culture, a creative hub for the Fillmore, and a holder of our past, present and future.

FREE Family Portraits! Are you looking for FREE family portraits this holiday season? Then take a moment during the photo session time of 6pm to 8pm at the Season of Black Arts: Celebrate Black Theatre and Film! Portraits will be done on a first come, first served basis, so please don't forget to register: and show up early to sign up for the free portraits.

The focus of the December 9th event is Black Film & Theatre. It is free to all. Season of Black Art joins forces with the San Francisco Black Film Festival for its 25th Anniversary of Resilience & Empowerment-Celebrating the Craftsmen & Women of Black Expression on Stage and Screen.

Curated films emanating from The African American Art & Culture Complex Hall of Culture to samples of new theatre productions from local San Francisco Bay Area companies in the Historic Buriel Clay Theater, the Narratives of Black Lives Explode in a Continuum of Awe-inspiring Entertainment and Enlightenment, December 9th (6pm - 10pm).

In addition to films from AAACC Cohort Filmmakers assisted through the Dream Keepers Initiative, The San Francisco Black Film Festival as part of its yearlong 25th anniversary will screen two films:

Black is Everything – TRT:4:36 Blackness is Everything is an experimental/performative short film that celebrates the diversity of the Black diaspora in The Bay Area. Directed by: Alba Roland Mejia/Written & Performed by: Donte Clark.

Reggie and June - (Dir. Brandon Thomas) - TRT: 12:51- Amid raising a 3-year-old toddler, a young Black father “Reggie” is completely oblivious to how he botched a traditional Chinese event important to his Asian-American wife. June will one-up Reggie's mistake with her lack of understanding of her husband's Black experience.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. Season of Black Art is an opportunity for people of all cultures, ethnicities, orientations, races and creeds to experience the beauty; connectedness; and positivity of cultural exchange.   At 6 p.m. doors open.  Registration is required.  For tickets go to www.seasonofblackart.org.

Upcoming monthly presentations include Black Dance, January 13, 2024 culminating with the finale of “Season of Black Art,”  The State of Black Art Symposium, February 10, 2024.

The public is encouraged to register for seating and refreshment considerations.  For registration and more information visit www.seasonofblackart.org.

 

ABOUT

 

The Season of Black Art (SOBA)  

SOBA will illuminate and educate the Black community about itself and to engage communities of all ethnicities to have a fuller view of the Black experience besides the rigidity of news and limited media narratives, The African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC) presents a captivating celebration of Black creativity and culture at the Season of Black Art showcase in San Francisco from October 2023 through February 2024.  SOBA series of extraordinary events will feature hundreds of talented Black artists and collectives, presenting a diverse array of artistic expressions. Audiences will experience thought-provoking speaker series, interactive presentations, and inspiring performances. It is for Everyone. Featured artists and ticket details will be posted regularly at seasonofblackart.org  as they are announced.

 

The African American Art and Culture Complex (AAACC) is operated with a vision to be a space for Black Creatives and Communities to thrive. AAACC is a space for Black creatives to present, gather, and learn, while being a space for all to experience Black art and culture. Individuals and organizations are engaged that align with its mission and core values: Creative Equity, Excellence, Freedom of Expression, Fun & Innovation and Health & Wellness.

​​​​​​​Photo Credit: Christopher Burch AKA Goya Goon

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