Crocker Museum showcases Black History Month

On Monday, Feb. 18, the Crocker Art Museum invites families to celebrate Black History Month with a spectacular showcase of the art, culture, history and traditions of the African Diaspora.

Inspired by the Black Family Reunion Celebration that occurs annually in Washington, D.C., the Crocker’s Family Festival brings to life African and African American history through a vibrant array of music, dance and storytelling, gallery experiences, hands-on art activities, and an arts and crafts marketplace.

At this fun and free celebration, Asheba, a musical storyteller who specializes in calypso, will perform stories of hope and happiness and fun remakes of classics such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

Vukani Mawethu Choir will sing freedom, labor and civil rights songs linking peoples in the U.S., South Africa, and around the world. Other performers include the Sacramento/Black Art of Dance and Faith Fellowship Community Church Choir, Phoenix Park Hip Hop and Step Dancers, UMOJA, and Kucheza Ngoma, an African dance troupe well-known in the Bay Area. In addition to a host of performances, the Family Festival will feature tours of the African American artists in the Crocker’s permanent collection and Regional Transit’s 1958 historic coach bus “Old Blue” — a symbolic reminder of the bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks. Arabella Grayson will offer a special drop-in art activity based on her extensive collection of Black paper dolls.

Presented in collaboration with the Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum and The Sacramento Observer, the free Family Festival program takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The museum will be open and free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the holiday on Monday. Free admission and activities are sponsored by Target.

For more information visit crockerartmuseum.org or call 916-808-7000.

The Crocker Art Museum, established in 1885, is one of the leading art institutions in California. The museum offers a diverse spectrum of special exhibitions, events and programs to augment its collections of Californian, European, Asian, African and Oceanic artworks.

The Crocker is located at 216 O St. in Downtown Sacramento.