Ivan B. Watkins is an internationally recognized artist, filmmaker, and scholar. A native of New Orleans, Art Institute and University of Chicago Graduate, Ivan is completing his Doctoral Dissertation “Historicity of the Black Indians of New Orleans Carnival†and teaching Art History at Northeastern Illinois University, in addition to running the Berwyn Cultural Center and raising a family.
Since1989 he has led more than 50 community-based public art projects, producing numerous large-scale outdoor murals throughout the United States and abroad. Committed to offering social catharsis through culture, arts, and history, Ivan’s work has also engaged diverse communities through diverse media including: ethnography, public events and educational programs, public lectures, museum exhibitions, documentary films, as well as multi-media and theatrical performances. Ivan is also a life-long student and instructor of the African Brazilian martial art Capoeira Angola, which he has taught at the Dance Center of Columbia College among numerous educational and cultural facilities.
Ivan’s Documentary films in varying stages of completion include: ZAMBO – African and Native American Cultural Survival, The Blackheart Man – exploring the theme of self-sacrifice in folk heroes and leaders, and “Success in the Making†– a biographical portrait of TRU Records visual artist Kernell Reynolds and the emergence of “Gangsta Rap†entrepreneurship, as well as a memorial to the survivors and victims of Hurricane Katrina. |
