Most Sundays, on my way to church, I would walk by this beautiful work of art and admire both its simplicity and beauty. The women in the sculpture look as if they were friends just enjoying each other’s company and appreciating one another for who they are; a moment that we all too often take for granted.

Tattoos are a popular form of expression, but they still aren’t well received in the business or medical field, unlike more creative work environments. So if you are looking for a career in these areas, but have a tattoo that can’t be covered by clothing or an accessory, you may want to look into makeup. There is everyday makeup that you can use to conceal your tattoos. Let’s look at some products that work well:

Artist Highlight: Yinka Shonibare

Ties That Bind, a dramatic film directed by Ghanaian born writer and director Leila Djansi, is making big waves in Hollywood. Last month the movie won the Best Diaspora Film award at the San Diego Black Film Festival and is making its way to the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles next week. Starring Kimberly Elise, Randall Batinkoff, Ama K Abebrese, and Omotola Ekeinde, Ties That Bind is about three women from different walks of life bound together by a similar pain - the loss of a child. In a destined meeting in a small village in Kroboland, the women journey together to redemption, love, life and forgiveness, as they renovate a dilapidated clinic for the villagers.

On December 29 and 30, 2011 at the Muson Center in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the most talked-about and important plays of cultural significance was adapted for the Nigerian theater. African-American award-winning poet/playwright Ntozake Shange’s riveting experimental play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (simply dubbed For Colored Girls) was brought to life – and it was about time.

On December 18, 2011, the short film, “Nkiru”, premiered in Lagos, Nigeria. The film is a 12-minute supernatural thriller which incorporates the Nigerian mermaid myth, also known as “Mami Wata” (“Mummy Water”). It is produced by Nkechi Bakare of 37th State Productions and written and directed by internationally acclaimed up-and-coming film maker Bolaji Kekere-Ekun, also of 37th State Productions. The short film was recently featured on MTV’s documentary program, “Touching Base.”

I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure that I’ve never yet seen or heard about a futuristic sci-fi movie written and directed by an African. So, please excuse my extreme excitement as I introduce this movie and its insanely brilliant writer-director. Feel free to describe me as “biased” in addition to being overly excited when I say that the fact that the writer-director is a woman gives me unspeakable joy. The writer-director is Wanuri Kahiu, multiple award-winner at the 5th African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2009 in the Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Original Soundtrack and AMAA Achievement in Editing Awards for her movie “From a Whisper.”

Testimony against thy Mother- Poem by Adeyinka Adiatu

Sundance 2012 selection, “Fishing Without Nets” (Jallaabasho Shabaq La’Aan) is a short narrative film shot guerilla-style by 24-year old American film maker, Cutter Hodierne about Somali pirates. What sets this short apart from the regular buzz about the Somali pirates is that it has only one theme: to tell the story of the pirates from the perspective of the pirates themselves.

ATLANTA, GA (November 11, 2011) –The Women of Color Arts & Film Festival (WOCAF) is gearing up for its 7th annual festival holding in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The four-day festival is scheduled for March 15 –18, 2012 at various locations around Atlanta.

Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Brianna McCarthy is a visual artist whose creative mediums expand to drawings, illustrations and collages. Brianna’s intricate and unique pieces beautifully portray Afro-Caribbean women in various manners that stray away from the stereotypical depiction of black women. With colors and designs that without a doubt is inspired by the diversity of her island, Brianna rises gracefully into the light of recognition marking her as a yet another artist to keep an eye on.

Artists, Art Connoisseurs, and Friends of Africa joined forces at the Sotheby’s Auction House in NYC on November 17, 2011, for the Art for Africa exhibit. The show was founded by philanthropists Tara and Jessica Getty, and friend, South African contemporary artist, Beezy Bailey and developed by Africa Foundation UK. In September 2009, the first Art for Africa™ was held at Sotheby’s in London and the proceeds ($701,175) of the sales were used to support orphaned and vulnerable children in South and East Africa.