Self-Proclaimed “Humble Negro Printer” Will Address Civil Rights, the Power of The Press, and Other Boundary-Pushing Subjects at the History Museum

February 10th, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb 10, 2017 (Santa Fe, NM)—The Press at the Palace of the Governors is pleased to host renowned letterpress printer, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., at the New Mexico History Museum. On Friday, March 3, the museum will host an artist’s talk and screen a segment of the 2008 film, Proceed And Be Bold!, a documentary following the life and work of Kennedy and his socially and politically charged works of art. Following the event, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase his hand-printed and much sought-after posters. The event will take place at 6:00pm in the museum’s auditorium; attendance is free and open to the public. A “Cash and Carry” sale of Kennedy’s hand-printed posters will be held in the Meem Room of the New Mexico History Museum on Saturday, March 4 from 10 am - 4pm. The sale is free and open to the public. In addition, an exhibition of Kennedy’s broadsides from his Rosa Parks commemorative series will be displayed in the museum’s lobby beginning February 14 and continuing through June 4, 2017.

 “This exhibit brings history into the present,” said Thomas Leech, director of the Palace Press. “We have all seen images of the civil rights struggles of the 50s and 60s, but Rosa Parks’ simple words bring into focus what it was all about. Hers are not lofty ideas; they are what anyone can understand and feel in their hearts to be true and just.”

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. runs a highly-regarded letterpress poster shop in Detroit. His work is a reflection of his pride as an African American printmaker and creator of artists’ books. A former systems analyst for AT&T, he quit his job to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied with renowned printer and book artist, Walter Hamady. Kennedy graduated in 1997 with a Master of Fine Arts degree, and in 1999 was hired by Indiana University Bloomington as the first African American associate professor in the Fine Arts Department. A trailer for the documentary film, Proceed and Be Bold!, is available here. 

Image Credits: Photo of Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.; posters from the 14-poster Rosa Parks commemorative series.

The New Mexico History Museum

The New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Avenue, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is part of a campus that includes the Palace of the Governors, the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States; the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library; the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives; the Press at the Palace of the Governors; and the Native American Artisans Program. A division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Museum exhibitions and programs supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.