Join us at Inner City Arts for a special screening of Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot with live introduction and Q&A by the filmmaker, Barbara McCullough.

About the documentary: This 72-minute documentary is a portrait of musician, composer, activist, and mentor to legions of young talented musicians, Horace Tapscott. It lets Mr. Tapscott tell his personal history and, in turn, that of jazz history in Los Angeles. He does this in the manner of the griot or storyteller who in West African societies report the history of their group in story / musical form. The film spans the period in his life from 1977 to 1991. Watch the trailer.

About the filmmaker: Born in New Orleans into a family of traditional jazz musicians, Barbara McCullough spent most of her life in the Los Angeles area. Her initial interest was in photography but the moving image, immediacy, and possible forum for ideas set her on a path of exploration. McCullough’s work progressed to examining the creative process of artists but always maintaining a fascination with experimental film and video. McCullough sees herself as a part of the continuum of African American storytellers whose aim is to preserve knowledge by capturing the essence of her culture—its life, spirit, and magic. She states, “I am dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the African American artist / cultural worker by documenting her / his achievements for future generations to keep the music and visual poetry alive.”

A partial screening list of her projects includes: Tate Modern, British Film Institute, Irish Film Institute, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Whitney Museum, Filmforum at MOCA LA, California African American Museum, Biennale du Rennes, Lenbachhaus Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Sao Paulo. Film festivals include: Pan African, New Orleans, Houston Cinema Arts, Metakino Essay Film, Black Star, African Film Academy Awards. “Horace Tapscott Musical Griot” received the Audience Award at the Pan African Film Festival in 2017. A National Film Preservation Foundation: Avant-Garde Masters Grant was awarded for her film, “Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification”. Ms. McCullough received a BA and MFA from UCLA and is part of a group of UCLA filmmakers termed, “The LA Rebellion.” A twenty-five year veteran of the special visual effects industry, she is past chair of the visual effects department at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Part 1: April 2 at 5pm: Screening—Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot
Part 2: April 6 at 7pm: Discussion—Passing the Magic (Learn More)

In conjunction with the exhibition Jamal Cyrus: The End of My Beginning at ICA LA, we present TRANSMISSIONS: Horace Tapscott — a two-part program about the musician, composer, and arts advocate Horace Tapscott. Tapscott’s dedication to the empowerment of the community; Black music cultural preservation; and the creation of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra are inspiration for next generation artists like Jamal Cyrus and others. The spirit of Tapscott and the Arkestra are models for a communal process of learning from the past to build the cultural future. Join us as we celebrate what would be Tapscott’s 88th birthday with a screening and discussion around music and transmissions.