For more than 40 years, Jamaican-born painter Lester Gunter has translated and transmitted his emotions and experiences through his paintings.
Next week, the award-winning artist - known for his lush landscapes and respected series of nudes - will be one of several artists taking part in “Reflective Interludes,” a fine art exhibition at the Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum in Bethesda, MD.
“My approach is to create strong, meaningful works,” said 71-year-old Gunter. His work will be highlighted in the month-long show along with creations by the late Jamaican artist Stanley Barnes, Arthur Coppedge, Gwen Cottman, Jeanette Glover, Michael Platt, Preston Sampson, Deborah Singletary and Ron Walton.
Works of the participating artists have been exhibited in Europe, the Caribbean and across the U.S.
Presented by Gallerie St. Charles of New York and Gallerie Henlopen of Silver Spring, MD, the exhibition will begin next Sunday with an opening reception from noon to 4 p.m. and end with a special closing event on April 27.
The show is being curated by Linda Sutton Jones, owner Gallerie St. Charles and Gallerie Henlopen, and art veteran Jim Powers, who owned Spiral Gallery in Brooklyn. For information, call Sutton Jones at 202-498-5052.
Immigration information
The CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project and City Council member Kendall Stewart will be co-sponsoring an information-filled immigration event on Saturday.
Participants are urged to arrive early - between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. - to meet with experienced immigration attorneys and counselors who can give candidates step-by-step help filling out applications, including taking the necessary photos, all free of charge.
Even if applicants do not have the required INS application fee, they should get their forms filled out with the assistance of these experts, urged Andrea Mckoy of Stewart’s office, adding that other matters – such as updates on pending immigration issues and reinstatements – can be referred to the CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project or handled by the council member’s staff.
Call Mckoy at 718-951-8177 or Allan Wernick at 646-942-2221 for information.
Welcome back radio show
One Caribbean Radio (620-AM), home to some of New York’s most respected veteran Caribbean broadcasters, presented a “Welcome Back Concert” Sunday, March 30 in Brooklyn, starring popular Edwin Yearwood and the Krosfyah band, Scrunta, Rikki Jai, Soca Deva, Jadine Aka, Ed Robinson and other performers.
The concert was held at Wingate High School, 600 Kingston Ave. (between Winthrop St. and Rutland Road).
When icons meet
Jeff Stetson’s play “The Meeting,” about the sit-down between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, will be staged Friday in Manhattan at the New Vision Theater at Memorial Baptist Church, 141 West 115th Street (at St. Nicholas Avenue) in Harlem at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The play - presented by Community Works in association with Shades of Jade Entertainment - stars Michael Green as King, Lawrence Winslow as Malcolm X and Derrick Anthony as Rashad. Call Community Works at 212-459-1854 for information.
Tribute to ancestors
A benefit show for the annual Tribute to the Ancestors of the Middle Passage will be held on Saturday in Brooklyn at Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Ave., from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Professor Safiya Bandele, community activist and director of the college’s Women’s Center, will be honored at the fund-raiser, which will include a fashion show with designs by Moshood, Raif, Akeem and Under Wraps. There also will be performances by the Kowteff, Shanto, the Crown Heights Youth Collective and an African-style marketplace of vendors.
The event will help fund the Tribute to the Ancestors of the Middle Passage, held each June, which remembers the Africans lost during the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Call 718-270-4902 for information.
Belafonte honors slavery victims
Actor-activist Harry Belafonte was among the international array of VIPs at the United Nations’ International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade last week.
Belafonte was the keynote speaker for last Tuesday’s ceremony and observance, which was one of several days the UN devoted to its first annual worldwide remembrance of the destructive trans-Atlantic slave trade - which brought enslaved Africans to the Caribbean, North and South America.
The 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the U.S. and present-day instances of slavery also were acknowledged during the event.
Also taking place last week was the start of the exhibit “The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo,” which opened with 52 narrative drawings by artist Tom Feelings, and the segment “Amistad: The Story,” about the enslaved Africans who took over a ship in 1839 and demanded to go back to their homelands.
In addition, the UN is conducting an outreach and education program to increase public awareness of the consequences and legacy of the 400-year slave trade.
For information on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade and related activities, visit www.un.org/events/slaveryabolition
This column is reprinted from the March 30 Sunday editions of The New York Daily News. If you have any items suitable for this column please e-mail them to jmccallister@nydailynews.com.
