Wanda's Picks: The Black Woman is God

"The Black Woman Is God," curated by Karen Seneferu is at the Sargent Johnson Gallery in SF, CA through May 30, 2013.  A self-taught artist that grew up in Oakland, California, receiving her BA in English from University of California, Berkeley she will speak about her interest in how individuals can be a part of mainstream society and maintain cultural integrity. In her academic hat Karen created a program that removed fear and anxiety for Foundational students called Take Flight at Berkeley City College. At the center of the program was the idea that narrative is art and art is narrative. Senferu's artwork is also a cross section of her teaching. She uses various mediums, such as installation, mix media sculpture, painting, and video to reveal the process of self empowerment and self- transformation. Zena Carlota Pearl Allen is a self-trained artist who uses the mediums of collage, painting, sculpture, and installation. In her art, which is currently a part of a number of exhibitions: Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland and One Life Institute at Studio One in Oakland, she explores universal themes of matriarchy, cultural knowledge and preservation that are cross-cultural in their significance. Her subjects are often women, relatives, and Indigenous deities of the African and Asian Diaspora. Velina Brown (Miss Flora in "A Lady and A Woman" at Theatre Rhino) is an award-winning actress, singer/songwriter, and director whose artistic home for several years has been the San Francisco Mime Troupe. She performs regularly at several Bay Area Theatre companies and was just seen this week in the Magic Theatre's staged reading of PEN/MAN/SHIP by Christina Anderson. Velina is also a coach and writes a monthly column for Theatre Bay Area Magazine called “The Business of Show Biz.”