MULTI-MEDIA ART EXHIBIT CHRONICLES AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

PITTSBURGH, April 8 -- The African Drum and Dance Ensemble (ADDE) of the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh will present a three-week multi-media art exhibit on the African experience beginning April 12 at the AIA Pittsburgh Gallery in the downtown Cultural District.

ADDE Director Shona Sharif brings together 13 local artists for "Swing Low, Sweet in the Mornin'," an exhibit that chronicles more than 400 years of the African experience in the Motherland and the Americas which is the basis for the ADDE's trademark performance.

The exhibit runs at the AIA Gallery, 211 Ninth Street, April 12 to April 30. Gallery hours are weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. An artists' reception is planned for 4 p.m., Friday, April 16.

The exhibit next appears at the Foreland Street Studios, 518 Foreland Street, North Side, May 10 to May 28. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Appointments also are available. An artists' reception is scheduled at the Foreland Street Studios at 3 p.m., Saturday, May 15.

The exhibit is sponsored in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pittsburgh Foundation/Howard Heinz Endowment Multi-Cultural Arts Initiative. Both the exhibit and receptions are open to the public. For more information, call Pitt's Africana Studies Department at 648-7540.

-30-

4/8/99/shg