IU ArtsWeek begins with exhibit at Mathers Museum

IU ArtsWeek kicked off Friday with an opening ceremony for the exhibit “A Change is Gonna Come: Black Music and Political Activism” in the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, which included an a capella performance by the AcaBella Ensemble. \nThe exhibit features album covers from music that inspired the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement that followed. Printed screens with text and pictures also showed the connection between music and the civil rights movement. \nSunni Fass, former project coordinator and administrator for the IU Archives of African American Music and Culture, said each piece of the exhibit was chosen carefully.\n“We just tried to choose pieces that illustrated the notion of black pride,” Fass said. “And that really embodied the movement.”\nIU Archives of African American Music and Culture director Portia Maultsby said the exhibit is meant to help connect the music and politics that surrounded the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement.\nMaultsby said soul music from artists such as Aretha Franklin and James Brown was derived from the Black Power movement. \n“The music was instrumental in galvanizing the black community in the struggle for racial equality,” Maultsby said.\nThe IU a cappella group AcaBella performed six songs that tied in with the exhibit’s theme. The songs varied from the Black National Anthem to a song from Bob Marley. \nFounding Director of AcaBella Delia Alexander said she picked the songs she loved and thought would work well with the exhibit’s theme. \nSenior Kristen Marchetti said the a capella performance was her favorite part of the ceremony.\n“I think it serves as an example that music is a good medium to discuss politics,” Marchetti said. \nSenior Kelsey Botne said music has always been a way for people to express themselves. Botne also said music helped bring people together during the civil rights movement. \nFass said the exhibit, which was sponsored by the Archives of African American Music and Culture, ArtsWeek and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, will stay open until April 27.