ARRAY Sets Summer Programming Slate With Acting Masterclass by Niecy Nash-Betts and a Cinematic Celebration of Jean-Michel Basquiat (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson Ava DuVernay’s arts and social collective ARRAY has announced its slate of summer programming, including an actor’s masterclass taught by Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts, a cinematic celebration of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the debut of two new commissioned projects from ARRAY’s Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP).

The summer lineup is curated by ARRAY’s SVP of public programming, Mercedes Cooper, and in keeping with the ARRAY’s mission of “igniting social change through the cinematic arts,” all events are free to the public.  “ARRAY’s focus on instigating narrative change through our non-profit ARRAY Alliance allows us to gather audiences around issues aligned with our core mission and everyday work,” said Cooper in a statement announcing the lineup. “With film and art as the doorway, this summer’s programs invite conversations around otherness, authority and privilege, love and loss, as well as Black masculinity,” she continued. “Our ongoing goal is to catalyze art as a tool for education, understanding and healing.”    The summer program kicks off on June 10 with the launch of the “Hollywood Africans” film screening series, inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting “Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars.” The summerlong presentation will showcase movies from the artist’s vast personal collection of VHS tapes with monthly screenings at ARRAY’s Amanda Cinema.

The first double feature of the series is Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 seminal psychological thriller “Rashomon” and Marcel Camus’ 1959 Academy Award-winning film “Black Orpheus.” Gordon Parks’ 1971 classic “Shaft” and Martin Brest’s 1984 action-comedy “Beverly Hills Cop” will screen on July 15, with