Artist Iyaba Ibo Mandingo interviewed by WPKN General Manager, Valerie Richardson

WPKN Music, Arts, and Culture Podcast

WPKN programmer Valerie Richardson speaks with artist Iyaba Ibo Mandingo about his exhibition Arwe Journey: Twentieth-Century Afri-Caribbean Migration, which will be on view at the Housatonic Museum of Art from Weds. Sept. 18, 2024, through Feb. 21, 2025. In the 61 paintings in this exhibition, the artist Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells the story of the 20th-century Afri-Caribbean migration to Europe and North America. Arwe Journey takes its inspiration from Jacob Lawrence’s Great Migration series and August Wilson’s plays. The exhibition will be accompanied by many special programs including performances of poetry and storytelling by the artist himself. Also joining the conversation were co-curators Jennifer Reynolds-Kaye, director of the Housatonic Museum of Art, and Suzanne Kachmar, director of Bridgeport’s City Lights Gallery. On a side note, Valerie chose to end the interview segment with a snipper of the song Push Back Your Bam-Bam by the Calypso Antiguan artist King Short Shirt. Iyaba was delighted to hear this song and shared after the interview that his mother worked as a backup singer with King Short Shirt.