February 3, 2016 6:30-9:00 PM Opening Reception for Drapetomanía: Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba

Join AAMP as we celebrate the opening of our latest special exhibition,Drapetomanía: Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba, which will be on display from January 30 to March 20, 2016. This reception is free and open to the public with a RSVP and will include music, wine and light fare for guests.

Just In: AAMP is excited to announce that DJ Rahsaan of AfroTaino Productions will provide a Afro-Cuban inspired playlist for the opening reception! Stay tuned for more information on our full suite of exhibition programs in partnership with AfroTaino! Click here for more details on DJ Rahsaan.

Drapetomanía is a tribute to Grupo Antillano (1978-­1983), a forgotten visual arts and cultural movement that privileged the importance of African and Afro-Caribbean influences in the formation of the Cuban nation. Grupo Antillano valiantly proclaimed the centrality of African practices in national culture. The title of the exhibit, Drapetomania, makes reference to an alleged disease described in the mid-nineteenth century by a slave physician in the plantations of Louisiana.

From the Greek drapetes (escape, run away) and mania (disorder, mental illness), the main symptom of this disease was the slaves' irrepressible and pathological urge to flee and to be free. Curated by historian Alejandro de la Fuente from Harvard University, the exhibit showcases works by the artists of Grupo and of a group of contemporary artists who share some of the concerns that Grupo Antillano articulated thirty years ago.

The African American Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch St.
Philadelphia Pa