CALENDAR SERIES
( www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~afriart)
The calendar is dedicated to those artists that contributed their talents to put together one of the most comprehensive examples of Black Christian Art. The project was called "Art in the Service of the Lord". Created by Nelson Stevens, this venture was set out to capture dynamic iconography from a rich culture. Professor Stevens would like the next calendar series to involve children artist from Springfield, Massachusetts area churches.

"The first time artists were called into the service of the Lord was during the Exodus. He, through Moses commanded them to build Him a tabernacle in the wilderness. The truth that He knew was this - 'Men become what they see.' And He desired that we see in the tabernacle an image that would uplift, inspire and motivate us to live the God-kind of life as modeled by His only begotten Son - Jesus. The second time artists were called into the service of the Lord was to produce the Black Christian Fine Arts calendar for the same reason." - Carl E. Yates

Read an interview about the calendar here.

MURALS
( www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~afriart) As a student Professor Stevens found himself in the position of proving to the professors and the people in the Art Department at Kent State that there was such a thing as 'Black art' and began to
research the Wall of Respect in Chicago where he ran into great resistance because his professors believed that there was no prejudice in art; prejudice existed but certainly not within the world of art. Nelson developed the concept that 'art was for the sake of people'. Some of his murals include:

I Am A Black Woman
I am a Black Woman…tall as a cypress…strong beyond all definition…still
defying place and time and circumstance.....assailed, impervious, indestructible…1ook on me and be renewed.

I, African People
Boston -1973 in conjunction with construction workers and Dana Chandler.

Icons of the Sun
Springfield in conjunction with University of Massachusetts in Amherst students, Pam Friday and Margarita Vargas.

Centennial Vision - This mural is the piece that Nelson put sweat; pain and perspiration into and commemorates Tuskegee University's 100th anniversary. The mural defines such historical figures such as Booker T. Washington, Cinque, Sojourner Truth, Mary McCloud Bethune, Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Dr. Frederick Douglas, Ida B. Wells, Paul Robeson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Dr. [W.E.B.] Du Bois and Marcus Garvey; the Bob Marley series is also a part of it as well as Jesse Jackson. The Centennial Vision is Nelsons' way of giving tribute to those who have found the power and the will to give voice and inspiration to the rest of us.

Springfield Girls Club Mural
Springfield Girls Club Family Center, 100 Acorn Street, Springfield, MA 01109.