Performing artists invited to Echoes Open Mic Night at the Albany Museum of Art
Nov 24 is the deadline to register to perform at Dec 4 Open Mic Event at the Albany Museum of Art. Selected works inspired by the Echoes of the Past African Art Exhibition will be showcased on Dec 4
[For Release November 13, 2025 – Albany, GA] ─ The Albany Museum of Art is inviting artists, writers, and performers to submit original work for Echoes: A Creative Response Open Mic on Thursday, Dec 4. The deadline to register as a participant is Monday, Nov 24.
“To honor and extend the dialogue opened by Echoes of the Past, we are inviting poets, storytellers, musicians, spoken word artists, performers, and writers to submit original creative responses inspired by the exhibition,” AMA Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Van Oteghem said. “This free public program will showcase selected works in an evening of live performance, reflection, and cultural dialogue.”
Echoes of the Past is the first comprehensive survey of African art at the Albany Museum of Art since From African Hands, which was first exhibited in 1971. Across the Haley, East, and Hodges Galleries, museum visitors encounter more than 150 works of art, drawn primarily from the AMA’s holdings and enriched by significant loans from the North Carolina Museum of Art, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, and the Savannah African Art Museum.
“The event will begin with a brief welcome and introduction to Echoes of the Past, its history, and the intention of the showcase, which will feature a series of live performances interspersed with pauses for audience reflection,” AMA Curator of African Collections and African Diasporic Art Sidney Pettice said.
Those who want to participate in the Dec 4 program can register using the link at www.albanymuseum.com/echoes-open-mic/. After registration closes on Nov 24, a Google submission form will be sent to all registrants. The form will request details, including name, contact information, the title of the proposed work, a 100- to 300-word description of the work, the medium and format, and the estimated length of the performance (up to a maximum of 10 minutes).
“Artists, writers, musicians, and other performers are asked to submit an original creative work inspired by the Echoes of the Past,” Pettice said. “The submissions can be poetry, storytelling, spoken word, song, music performance, dance, short essay, monologue, or dramatic reading.”
Themes to consider include heritage and ancestry, cultural memory and preservation, the tension between tradition and modernity, ritual, religion, spirituality, the impact of Western perceptions on African art, and personal reflection or community history connected to African art or diaspora identity, she said.
Those with questions about registration can contact Van Oteghem at annie.vanoteghem@albanymuseum.com or call her at 229.439.8400.
AMA EXHIBITIONS
- Echoes of the Past is Sept 4, 2025-Jan 3, 2026 in the Haley, East, and Hodges Galleries.
- A Legacy Built with Nature: Menaboni at 130 is Sept 4, 2025-Jan 3, 2026 in the McCormack Gallery.
- 2nd annual Juried Southwest Georgia Student Art Exhibition is Nov 15, 2025-Jan 3, 2026, in the West Gallery.
About The Albany Museum of Art
The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive in Albany, Ga., adjacent to Albany State University West Campus, just off Gillionville Road. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Albany Museum of Art is open to the public 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
For more information about the AMA please visit our website, www.albanymuseum.com, or call 229.439.8400. Be sure to follow AlbanyMuseumOfArt on Facebook and AlbanyMuseum on Instagram.
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