Heavenly Beings Showcase Closing Reception

The African American Cultural and Heritage Facility (AACHF) is hosting the closing reception for Heavenly Beings on Saturday, August 29, from 3 PM to 7 PM. It's the final send-off for a multi-disciplinary exhibition that's been on view at the Historic Dedrick Hamilton House since June 20, and the reception is free and open to all ages.

Heavenly Beings brought together more than 15 Black artists and performers, each invited to evoke what their Blackness means to them. They worked across a wide range of media—sculpture, painting, photography, film, and poetry—so the show wasn't tied to any one style. The reception puts the live side of that on display: Austin poets and DJs will perform throughout the afternoon, and there's a live Q&A with the exhibiting artists, which is your best bet for hearing them talk through their work before the exhibition closes for good.

The venue itself is worth a look. The AACHF anchors Austin's African American Historical and Cultural Heritage District and houses the Dedrick Hamilton House, built around 1880 in one of East Austin's earliest African American communities. The house now serves as an African American Visitors Center and Art Studio. Its facade carries a 6-foot by 25-foot glass and ceramic tile mosaic mural by Reginald C. Adams, commissioned in 2011 and installed in late 2012, with portraits of 89 people who advanced the African American community in Austin. The facility also houses the Greater Austin Black Chamber.

If you've been meaning to catch the show, this is the last chance to see it. The reception runs from 3 PM to 7 PM on Saturday, August 29, at the AACHF, 912 E 11th St, and it's free and open to the public.