Pinellas Exhibit Opening Saturday Explores Black Representations

LARGO, FL — An opening reception and artist talk for "Imagine Blackness: Alternate Realities and Collective Dreaming" will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. at The Gallery at Creative Pinellas.

"Imagine Blackness" is a collaborative exploration of Blackness and Black representation through AI-generated images created by artist McArthur Freeman II and sociologist Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman.

This exhibition invites viewers to engage in the act of collective dreaming as a social intervention, which moves beyond the reality of the present world to re-imagine and discover new ways of seeing and being.

Inspired by Black speculative fiction and Afro-Futurism, the project offers viewers interactive opportunities to question, inspire, and escape by engaging the viewers’ own imaginations in the co-construction of the future and alternate worlds.

“Combining exceptional artistic talent with technology and sociology, McArthur Freeman II and Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman have created a panoply of Afrofuturistic images that propel us past the challenges, injuries and pain entangling us today, enabling us to craft and experience new realities that are more expansive, beautiful, and just,” said Beth Gelman, Creative Pinellas senior director of arts and cultural programming.

“This is the power of art. Art can open minds to new ideas and ways of thinking which have the potential to truly transform our community and world for the better," Gelman said.

The exhibit will run through Feb. 26. Visit The Gallery at Creative Pinellas, 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo, at no cost Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.