Morningside Lights: A Neighborhood Procession Celebrates Bearden’s Black Odyssey

Hundreds of people held aloft glowing lanterns honoring African American artist Romare Bearden during the third annual Morningside Lights procession. It kicked off after dark on Sept. 27 in Morningside Park and wound its way up to campus. Marchers carried lanterns and musical instruments made in workshops at Miller Theatre in the week before the parade. The workshops, led by directors of the Processional Arts Workshop, attracted adults and children from the local community. This year’s theme was Odysseus on the A Train, part of a yearlong celebration on campus of Bearden and his iconic 1977 collage series, A Black Odyssey, which will be on display in the Wallach Gallery starting Nov. 15. Bearden, a longtime resident of Harlem, based the works on Homer’s epic.

For video and more on the year of Bearden-related events, visit columbia.edu/bearden.

October 14, 2014