History of the Fulton Art Fair Troubled by the media depiction of her neighborhood as being crime-ridden, mortician Shirley Hawkins, a resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, set about to correct that image. She, along with artist friends Ernest Crichlow and Jacob Lawrence reached out to other local artists in 1958. Among these were: Joan Bacchus Maynard, Onnie Millar, Leo Carty, Otto Neals, Tom Feelings, Al Hollingsworth, Olga Kandel, Violet Hewitt Chandler and the Hewitt family. The media focus on crime omitted almost all positive aspects of life in this close-knit, working-class community. Surely there was crime, but by no means did it overshadow the pulse of the community to rise above poverty; to be gainfully employed; to own homes and businesses; ensure their children the opportunity of good education, proper nourishment, religious and home training. This was the Bedford Stuyvesant known to Shirley Hawkins; a work in progress, much like neighborhoods throughout the world. There were some art exhibits in Brooklyn, but seldom free to the public. Fulton Art Fair was a showcase for many African American artists who had not been particularly welcomed in established galleries. In addition, exhibition costs were, in main, out of their range. A few galleries, libraries and churches did provide slim alternatives on rare occasion. In 1958, one might say Fulton Art Fair was almost the only game in town; a regularly scheduled annual exhibit affordable to artists, open and free to the public. The setting, Fulton Park, was ideal. The Park became a gallery without walls! Its warm familiarity encouraged new relationships within the African American art community, which, in turn, stimulated pride within a neighborhood whose residents, for the most part, had never visited an art gallery. Some of the people who pooled their strengths with founder Shirley Hawkins to bring Fulton Art Fair onto the scene were: Justice Thomas Russell Jones (Retired); author, John O. Killens; Reverend Milton Galamison; Attorney Courtenay L. Wiltshire; former Weeksville Society Director, Joan Bacchus Maynard; Olga Maryschuk Kandel; Ernest Crichlow; Jacob Lawrence; Evelyn S. Cohen; W. E. B. Seay; Maurice and Stella Golden, of Boro Hall Mimeo and others. The first Fulton Art Fair in June, 1958, exhibited African American artists to the community in numbers not seen before. Images looking out from these paintings and drawings were reflections of the community. Many in the neighborhood considered art as a hobby, a pastime. The Fair introduced them to the cultural value of art as seen through the eyes of people like themselves. Their pleasure was doubled as they rubbed shoulders with Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Max Roach, Abby Lincoln, Harold Cumberbatch, Cecil Payne, and other celebrities who walked around Fulton Park admiring the work displayed on the park fencing. Given the time period, which was when the Civil Rights movement was gaining steam, some new venues opened for our artists and some left Fulton Art Fair for what they felt were greener pastures. Though promoting a market for our artists in the community was one of our goals, we also wished to broaden the pubic exposure of the artist, stimulate the public's awareness of various disciplines within the arts and its investment potential. |
Today there is the MoCADA museum, and myriad art galleries and shops throughout the community. It might be said that Fulton Art Fair planted the seed that blossomed into an explosion of the arts in Bedford Stuyvesant. Fulton Art Fair continues to promote fine art, primarily by African Diasporean artists, introduce emerging artists and encourage art education in the community. When Fulton Art Fair first opened in Fulton Park, visitors came to look for "pictures" to compliment color schemes in their homes. With an educated eye, they now realize that the artist is the storyteller of our culture and these creations are each a part of our spiritual being. Fulton Art Fair established the first free public exhibition in a local community, featuring fine artists from the Africa Diaspora. The annual major exhibit is held outdoors in Fulton Park. The park is centrally located in Bedford Stuyvesant and is part of Stuyvesant Heights, a designated landmark section of Brooklyn, easily accessible by all modes of public transport. It lends itself well to the presentation of Graphic and performing arts in a comfortable, complementary blend of art and nature; a signature gallery in Bedford Stuyvesant which also announces its own presence. In Memoriam, 2007-2008: Raymond Richardson, Max Roach, Merv Griffin, Brooke Astor, Robert (Hadria Hakim) Burckett, Carolyn Goodman, John Lucien, Asa Hilliard, Luciano Pavarotti, Bobby Byrd, Willie Tovington, Mary Umulu, PhD, Lawrence (Slim) Dorsey, Loyd Rainford, St. Clair Bourne, Oscar Peterson, Ellis 'Bo Diddley' McDaniel, Cecil Payne Still Remembered: Sean Bell, Timothy Strasburg, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond |
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