July 20, 2021 - 12-2pm
Manny Vega is a Bronx born painter, illustrator, printmaker, muralist, mosaicist, and set and costume designer. His work portrays the history and traditions of the African Diaspora that exist in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. This style has developed under Harlem printmaker Robert Blackburn at his Printmaking Workshop from 1980-1990 as well as the artist collective he joined Taller Boricua in 1979 where he studied through 1986.
Since 1984, Manny has been traveling to Salvador, Bahia in Brazil, where he has been initiated into the Afro Brazilian temple known as “Ile Iya Omi Ase Iya Masse”. While with the temple, his creative talents were used to create some of the most elaborate ritual costumes and accessories. His work in this medium has been documented by the Fowler Museum of UCLA, the Smithsonian, as well as Dartmouth College. This body of work has been documented in the book, Beads, Body, and Soul: Art & Light in the Yoruba Universe, as well as the book, The Yoruba Artist.
Manny Vega is part of the Reconnect Series. The Reconnect series features music and an outdoor art gallery/studio on Tuesdays from 12-2pm, and Thursdays from 5-7pm. on Little Sixth Avenue.
