The exuberantly framed faces in Spiva’s next Regional Gallery exhibit represent the culmination of a year-long statewide and global community art endeavor. In face.africa, an exhibit of portraits sponsored by the Board of Directors of Spiva Center for the Arts, visitors will come "face to face" with a group of young women from Kenya.

Josie Mai, Assistant Professor of Art at MSSU, established face.africa to connect American artists with Kenyan children through the portrait project. Mai is a member of the Visual Arts Faculty at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy (MFAA) in Springfield, and is a founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, Soulfari Kenya.

During the summer months, Mai and her colleagues travel to Kenya where she photographs children and young people, gathering information about each one through interviews and conversation.

On her return to America, she enlists artists to paint portraits based on the photographs and notes she has taken. When Mai returns to Kenya the following summer, she delivers the paintings to the young women portrayed.

“These young Kenyan girls don’t even have mirrors. So to receive their portrait is a special gift,” she explains. Mai photographs the presentation of the portraits in Kenya, and sends the photograph to the American artist, completing the circle.

In 2007, the second year of the project, MFAA alumni created 35 portraits of participants in Binti Pamoja (literally, “daughters united”). The group consists of young women ages 13 to 21 who meet on a regular basis to discuss reproductive health and women’s rights and concerns in Kenya.

The face.africa portraits will be published as a catalog available for purchase at Spiva during the exhibit. All proceeds from the catalog sales will go to support Soulfari Kenya.

face.africa opens to the public Saturday, December 1 and runs through Sunday, January 6, 2008. Additional financial assistance for the exhibit is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Spiva is open to the public Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 1–5 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission to the galleries is by voluntary contribution. Suggested donation is $2 per adult and $1 for school aged children.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org


See you at Spiva–where imagination lives!