OPEN SPACE

………………………………. "Only dull and powerless artists defend their art by reference to sincerity" —Kazimir Malevich……………………………………..

Duane Deterville is a visual artist, writer and Co-Founder of Sankofa Cultural Institute. A former Contra-Mestre of the African Brazilian martial art known as Capoeira, Duane’s primary interest is in African and African Diasporic cultural expression. As the Board Chair and Artistic Director of Sankofa Cultural Institute he produced three symposiums on Jazz: “ Jazz the Black Aesthetic” in 2001, “Bird, Bop, Black Art and Beyond” in 2006 and “The Sacred Jazz Symposium” in 2007. His independent field research includes trips to Haiti and Brazil to research sacred ground drawings and altars.” He has recently co-authored the book entitled “Black Artists in Oakland” that was published by Arcadia in 2007, in addition to publishing an article on the painter Raymond Saunders for The Green Magazine. His visual art practice is focused on drawings that address the intersection between symbols and ritual in African Diasporic religions. He is a longtime resident of Oakland and is deeply involved with a group known as Black Dot Artists in the development of a Black Cultural District in West Oakland called the Village Bottoms. Duane received his BFA in Drawing from the California College of Arts and Crafts and an MA in Visual and Critical Studies from the California College of the Arts located in San Francisco California.