Home »

Baobab Cultural Center gets fresh start in Rochester, NY

Exotic mosaic at Baobab signifies a new start as it celebrates African culture

An exotic, 6-foot-long mosaic on ArtWalk is the symbol of a fresh start for an African art gallery.

The Baobab Cultural Center was launched a year ago at German House on Gregory Street. Cameroon-born toxicologist and art collector Moka Lantum brought exhibits, movies with African themes and lectures to the third-floor studio ? which proved too out-of-the-way to attract much notice.

So in September, he moved his paintings and sculptures to a more conspicuous space in Imagine Square, the arts center at 728 University Ave. The spacious new gallery's huge picture windows help showcase a culture unfamiliar to many art buyers.

"We get a lot of through traffic from the Neighborhood of the Arts," says Lantum, 35. "This is much more accessible to the public."

But he soon found that he needed an emblem to set Baobab apart in its artsy surroundings. One of his artists, Jamaican-born Kofi Kayiga, had created a mural for Boston's Hamil Gallery of African Art. Lantum decided that the piece could work just as well on University Avenue ? but with brilliant mosaic tiles and an expanded design.

Last week, the 48 tiles arrived from the Loudeac Tile Studio in Newfield, Tompkins County. Irondequoit framer Doug Van Roo assembled the 150-pound image on plywood and sent it to Baobab, where it's propped on a sturdy metal easel facing the sidewalk.

Entitled An African Spiritual Journey, it's painted in subtle shades of ocher, burnt orange and deep cobalt. An African Baobab tree shoots up through the center and binds together symbols of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and African myth.

"It's saying that the three religions come from the same roots," says Lantum. "The mosaic is all about understanding our origins and where we're going spiritually. It's also a call for Africans living in big cities like Rochester to rediscover their roots."

The mosaic's symbolism is both colorful and complex. You can find scenes with the Egyptian sun god Ra, Moses' tablets and an African version of Mary and Jesus. Dramatic archways illustrate different sacred architecture, and a large African "talking drum" is carved with ancestral spirits.

The tree also represents the abolitionist campaigns of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743-1803), who launched a march against slavery under a Baobab.

"The mosaic is very close to my mural in Boston," says Kayiga, 62, a Cambridge, Mass., resident in town this weekend for the unveiling. "In fact, it's more interesting than the original."

Baobab Cultural Center will continue to host cultural talks and movies, including a Wednesday night film series on the African roots of religion. But its main focus is still on modern and traditional African art, ranging from $75 to $5,000. Lantum has just started an exhibition series featuring different local artists' work each weekend, including metal artist Greg Rice and photographer Moira Speer.

"I've already sold quite a few paintings here," says Bronx artist Ikahl, 53, who was visiting the gallery Tuesday. "I also exhibit in Manhattan and Orlando (Fla.), and Baobab is definitely a good showcase. It'll hold its own."

For more about Baobab, call (585) 563-2145 or go to www.thebaobab.org.