Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival that begins on December 26. Created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the holiday combines both African and African American cultural practices and celebrates traditions from Africa and the diaspora. Based on African harvest festivals, each day of Kwanzaa is connected to one of seven principles (Nguzo Saba). The principles are Umoja (unity), Kujichaguila (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Each is universally appealing, making Kwanzaa a holiday that can be celebrated by everyone.
The Saint Louis Art Museum will present its annual Kwanzaa celebration on Sunday, December 30. The Kwanzaa principle of the day is Nia (purpose) and according to Dr. Karenga, it is “to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.” In further describing “purpose,” Dr. Karenga discusses it in terms of four main concepts: “collective vocation,” the “heirs and custodians of a great legacy,” “generational responsibility” and the “joining personal and societal purpose.”
This year’s Kwanzaa celebration is themed Wearing Our CROWN (compassionate, resilient, outstanding, worthy, noble) and the day’s free activities will include a family art activity, photo booth, auditorium performance and a self-guided scavenger hunt based on the Nguzo Saba. Beginning at noon, visitors can create their own wearable work of art in the form of an arm band, take a picture with their families and take a self-guided tour of the Museum’s African and contemporary art galleries with a Kwanzaa themed scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt includes works of art by prominent African American artists like Kehinde Wiley and will be made available at the Museum during the duration of Kwanzaa from December 26 to January 1. Those families who complete the scavenger hunt on December 30 can redeem a prize. The family art activity takes place in Grigg Gallery from noon to 4 pm.
The Kwanzaa performance will begin promptly at 2 pm in The Farrell Auditorium. Performances include a storytelling session with drumming accompaniment performed by Kenya Ajanaku, masquerade and folklore dance by Kunama Mtendaji and African dance and drumming by Sunshine Cultural Arts Center’s Community Performance Ensemble. The performance is free but tickets are required. Tickets will be made available at the Museum starting at noon on December 30. There is a limit of six tickets per person. Kwanzaa: Wearing Our CROWN is presented in collaboration with the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter.
