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BLACKSIDE

August 5, 1997

Jeff Donaldson, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Fine Arts and Professor of Art 
Howard University
504 T Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Dean Donaldson:

As you know from calls from production assistants Tanayi Seabrook and Marcus Walker that Blackside is producing I'll Make Me A World: Stories of African-American Art, Artists, and Community, a six-hour public television series on 20th century visual and performing arts and artists. The series, which is divided into three two-hour broadcasts, is described briefly on the sheet attached. We would like to speak to you about participating in the series as someone who from personal experience and historical knowledge could help our audience gain insight into the world of the working artist, learn of the rich works and lives of artists from earlier decades, and understand the roles that activist-artists have played in society. We would like to set up a time to speak to you over the telephone at your earliest convenience.

Night Two
The second evening, my two-hour program, explores the stormy period from approximately 1935 to 1965. In the first hour, I am excited to include a story of Harlem's post-Renaissance artists and the Federal Arts Project focusing on Augusta Savage's art and her contributions to her community and America's next generation of artists like Norman Lewis, Jacob Lawrence and Robert Blackburn. I am now contacting artists, historians, and archives across the country to develop this segment.

We have an opportunity to review a number of secondary sources for information about the late sculptor and have recently begun reviewing primary documents and speaking with former students and friends. This includes screening the tape of the conference you and Dr. King-Hammond moderated at the Schomburg. Many of the questions that I had about Savage and the other artists were addressed, but it raised many more questions. At this point, I am trying to understand more about Savage's personality and her relationships with Mary Beatty Brady, Alain Locke, Gwendolyn Bennett, and the "306" crowd. In addition, I am trying to gain accurate information about her role in the Harlem Artists Guild and her life from the time she left the Harlem Community Arts Center to work on The Harp through to the closing of her gallery and departure for Saugerties. Is it possible to read your presently restricted dissertation Generation "306"-Harlem NY? And finally, how should we assess Augusta Savage's artistic output? What is important to say about works like Gamin, The Harp, etc.?

Blackside, Inc. Film and 732 Productions 486 Shawmut Avenue Boston, MA 02118-3320 (617)536-6900 Fax (617)536-1732