Maroon Cultures Smithsonian Exhibit

SALISBURY, MD---"Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas," a traveling Smithsonian exhibition featuring rarely seen material on these communities of escaped slaves, is on display March 8-April 5 in the Atrium Gallery of the Guerrieri University Center at Salisbury University. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free and the public is cordially invited.

The exhibition includes historical drawings and maps, timeline, contemporary photographs and a selection of ceremonial and daily life objects from various Maroon communities, whose name is derived from the Spanish "cimarron," meaning "fugitive" or "wild one." Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, "Creativity and Resistance" is on a 16-city tour.

Within 10 years of Columbus' first voyage to the Americas, Africans brought to the Caribbean as slaves began escaping from plantations and mines to seek freedom. Through creativity and resistance, Maroons posed military and economic threats that struck hard at the plantation system and challenged the foundation of colonial power. Many Maroon communities survived in the wilderness and won partial political autonomy from colonial governments. Today, descendants of some of the original Maroon communities live in Jamaica, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and the Bahamas.

The SU Office of Cultural Affairs and Museum Programs sponsors the exhibition and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. For more information call 410-548-3972 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.