An Evening With The Directors Of Searching For Augusta Savage
October 10, 2024
Augusta Savage was the first person in the U.S. to open a gallery dedicated to African American art. A Harlem Renaissance sculptor and art educator, she was also one of the first Black women art activists of her time and fought for the inclusion of Black artists in the mainstream canon. The film explores Savage's legacy, and why her artwork has been largely erased. Stream the the director's cut and Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason's conversation with Sandra Rattley and Charlotte Mangin of Audacious Women Productions.
Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman
Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman
This is a timely, visual, exploration of the fascinating life and lasting legacy of sculptor Augusta Savage (1892-1962), who overcame poverty, racism, and sexual discrimination to become one of America's most influential twentieth-century artists. Her story is one of community-building, activism, and art education. Born just outside Jacksonville, Florida, Savage left the South to pursue new opportunities and opened a studio in Harlem, New York City, offering free art classes. She co-founded the Harlem Artists’ Guild in 1935 and became the first director of the federally-supported Harlem Community Art Center. Through her leadership there, Savage played an instrumental role in the development of many artists: William Artis, Gwendolyn Knight, Gwendolyn Bennett, Norman Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Blackburn, Romare Bearden, among many others. This ground-breaking volume features fifty works by Savage, and those she mentored or influenced, as well as correspondence and period photographs.