Through September 26th
Dinah Washington:
“A Centennial Celebration to a Life in Music”
Featured on September 6th from 5 – 7 p.m. during First Friday
Open through September 26th
Celebrating “Queen of the Blues” Dinah Washington’s centennial year, The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa will be hosting “Dinah Washington: A Centennial Celebration to a Life in Music” an exhibit of photos and special artifacts from the Estate of Dinah Washington. Displayed in The Arts Council Gallery at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, the exhibit will be open to the public weekdays, September 6-26from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The exhibit will open on September 6th from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. during the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Tuscaloosa.
Fans can expect an upcoming biopic about the life of Washington by Rolling Fork Productions (https://www.rollingforkproductions.com/) and produced by filmmaker Angie Lee Cobbs and award-winning actor Danny Glover. The exhibit in Tuscaloosa is a celebration of the life of Dinah Washington curated by music historian & cultural curator, Nwaka Onwusa (https://nwaka.co/).
Originally named Ruth Lee Jones, the artist was born Aug. 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa. Her family then relocated to Chicago, where she was eventually encouraged by her religiously devout mother to sing and play the piano in her church choir. In 1940, after winning an amateur talent contest at the Regal Theater, she performed in numerous Chicago nightclubs, but remained close to gospel music. In the early 1940s she adopted the stage name Dinah Washington, and after performing with the Lionel Hampton band, began a successful solo career in 1946. Her early recordings were consistently among the top ten on the R&B charts including “Evil Gal Blues,” “Am I Asking Too Much” and “Baby Get Lost.” After making the transition to the popular music market, “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” was a huge success, winning her a Grammy Award in 1959 for best R&B performance. Throughout the 1950s, she made appearances at jazz festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island in 1958.
Dinah Washington’s song catalog is available for streaming on all major music streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple, Tidal and Amazon.
Washington died at age 39 on December 14, 1963, in Detroit, Mich. In 1993 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Quincy Jones, who worked as Washington’s arranger, said “She had a voice that was like the pipes of life.…Every single melody she sang she made hers. Once she put her soulful trademark on a song, she owned it and it was never the same.”
Gallery hours are weekdays 9 a.m.- noon and 1-4 p.m. For more information about all gallery events taking place on First Friday and the locations, visit www.firstfridaytuscaloosa.com.
The Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center is located at 620 Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information about The Arts Council or Bama Theatre, patrons should follow and like “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center” on Facebook and Instagram @tuscaloosaartscouncil. Call 205-758-5195 or visit tuscarts.org for further information.
___________________________
The Arts Council Gallery is available to artists by invitation only. The Arts Council Gallery located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center is one of two galleries managed by The Arts Council. Meeting the demand for additional exhibit space in Tuscaloosa, the gallery hosts a variety of exhibits by artists from around Alabama and the Southeast as well as artists from our own community. Exhibits in The Arts Council Gallery at the CAC and the Junior League Gallery located in the Bama Theatre, are displayed on a rotating basis and are usually booked several months in advance.
Gallery Hours:
Weekdays from 9-4 p.m.
Professional Bar Services provided by Casual Class Bar Services
Open to artists by invitation only.