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Cultural
Heritage
Pamoja
members, individually and collectively, organize and
 participate in numerous endeavors that advance their artistic
development and public appreciation
for art. These activities include, but are not limited to
exhibitions, murals, plays, workshops,
neighborhood outreach, tours and festivals. Pamoja also serves
informally as a clearinghouse
for African-American visual artists in northwest Louisiana. The
organization is a frequent
resource to art councils,
public agencies, schools, churches, and other nonprofits throughout
the state that are interested in engaging local African-American
artists and audiences.
Pamoja Art Society
was
incorporated in 1974 by an inspired collective of
young,
 talented visual artists that came together to
nurture, create, and promote art by African American
artists in the Shreveport-Bossier area. Several of
the men and woman at the time, were current or
recent graduate students of Professor Roosevelt
Daniel, the Founding Chairperson of the Fine Arts
Program at Southern University of Shreveport.
Others became members as a result of their
involvement in neighborhood visual art classes being
organized by students and emerging artists. The
group formed a
supportive community for artists to
refine their creative voices, explore cultural and
universal themes, develop their professional
ability, and challenge limited information about the
value of African-American art. Taking the name
Pamoja, which is an East African word meaning
"coming together," the group was incorporated as a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. More than thirty
years later, Pamoja remains an active and
significant leader within
Shreveport's art community at large, functioning in dual roles, as a
membership-based artists association and a
community-based presenter of art programs for the
public.
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