Play, Lecture and Exhibit Celebrates Cultural Tradition of African-American Women

January 11, 2012    |   Categories: News, Nonprofits
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Fly-By-Night Productions (FBNP) has expanded CROWNS, the play by Regina Taylor, to include a lecture and exhibit by Michael Cunningham.

CROWNS is a stand-up-and-testify musical based on photographer Michael Cunningham’s exhibit and subsequent book of the same title that was co-written by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry.

CROWNS, being staged February 3 & 4, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Five Flags Theater, features an all African-American cast. The play is a soul-stirring tribute to the unique cultural phenomenon that fuses faith with fashion by celebrating African-American women and their church hats.

Photographer Michael Cunningham contacted FBNP to offer up his exhibit and subsequent lecture to enhance the CROWNS experience. The exhibit will take place in the Main Lobby of the Roshek Building at 700 Locust Street in Dubuque, Iowa, February 1 – March 31, 2012, with an accompanying lecture by Cunningham on February 4, 2012, at 1 p.m. The lecture will also by in the Roshek lobby and will focus on Cunningham’s photography and the inspiration behind the exhibit that started it all. The Smithsonian’s Anacostia Museum featured two of the images from CROWNS in its exhibition titled “Locating the Spirit in African-American Art.”

As a commercial photographer, Cunningham usually works in color. Regarding his personal projects, Cunningham chooses to work in black and white; this allows him to express what is in his soul. “Black and white photography is very persona,” he says. “It reaches deep inside viewers, making them study the photograph for what it represents outside of pretty colors.”

Fly-By-Night Productions’ artistic director, Lenore Howard states, “It’s our goal to expand our actor and audience base, and this very special production (and now lecture and exhibit) will contribute positively to celebrating Dubuque’s cultural diversity and fostering intercultural understanding in our community.”

CROWNS the play, lecture and exhibit have been made possible by Fly-By-Night Productions, the City of Dubuque, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, and an anonymous arts contributor.

Read the New York Times' review of CROWNS