Museum of Art and Origins

The Museum of Art and Origins – MOAO – is inspired by the original concept of the Brazilian art critic Mario Pedrosa who in 1978 affirmed that to be primitive or contemporary is equal. The collection includes Classical African art, Modern and Contemporary art, works on paper from East Asia and First Nation arts of The Americas. The collection also includes photography and 18th-19th century European Prints. In February 2006, The Museum of Art and Origins in New York City became a reinvention of the concept originated at the Museo National de Belas Artes – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1990 under direction of Heloisa Aleixo Lustosa, with the technical assistance of Professor Dinah Papi de Guimaraens.

We Free Strings

"...WeFreeStrings combine free jazz with the music of African-American string bands and classical avant-garde; it picks up where the likes of The Revolutionary Ensemble and James 'Blood' Ulmer's Odyssey left off, adding sounds previously heard in Ornette Coleman's writing for strings. This is surging, stabbing, thumping music...massive pulse...real sting." -  Phil Freeman, The Wire, Oct. 2018.  

WeFreeStrings perform original and arranged works that embody the ethos of free jazz and the Afro-Atlantic.  For the ensemble, Improvising on viols is an act rooted in cultural identity and deeply creative expression.   To find out more about We Free Strings CLICK HERE.

Staff

David Baberski,
Operations

Oluwaseni Akinyemi, BFA
Assistant & Facilitator

Donna Thompson Ray, ABD
Consultant