Ben Adwenpenwa-Badu
Interlude

Meleen Cort
First Family

Batik from the
Murungu collection

Ben Adwenpenwa-Badu
Otumfuwo

Meleen Cort
Conversation

Imbura from the
Murungu collection

Ben Adwepenwa-Badu of Worcester paints cultural themes from his youth in Ghana in oil and watercolors, acrylic, and pastel.
He says, "Art is is a celebration expressed in every aspect of the African cultural spectrum -- and this is a great source of inspiration to him. For Ben, the embodiment of self, both psyche and cultural, is the hallmark of his work. Ben has found the use of abstraction of cultural scenes, architecture, the market, musicians, and individuals as a means to express the outside influences in Ghana .

Meleen Cort, born in Tela Honduras, works in textile and mixed medium collages using figures in African fabrics. In her childhood, spent in Queens, New York, Meleen explored crafts using fabric, yarn, string in rug making, and macramé. This interest in textile developed into her current mixed media collages. One of seven siblings, Meleen explores the intimacy of relationships in her images; people arranged in warm conversational poses. Ms. Cort lives in Laurel, Maryland with her two sons, Adam, and Matthew, and her husband Wilburt.

Solomon Murungu collects textile pieces and handmade indigenous musical instruments from Zimbabwe. He will share these potato print batiks and hand painted gourds, drums, and imberas in this exhibition.