Submitted by Michelle Brown
DELRAY BEACH, Fl — June 9, 2025 — Depending upon where you stand in the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, a different artistic perspective will be presented on Juneteenth.
Beginning June 19, 2025, the federally recognized commemoration of Juneteenth, visitors who step into the backyard space will experience a new outdoor installation that will explore the meanings of Adinkra symbols. Adinkra are visual symbols that represent concepts, proverbs, and aphorisms. Originated from the Gyaman people of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, Adinkra symbols have been frequently appropriated by other cultures for use in advertising, political propaganda, branding and art — from the Dixie® cup logo to the Tic-Tac-Toe grid.
The installation will feature the works of residents and visitors who participated in a five-day workshop, led by museum curatorial consultant Khaulah Nuruddin. Participants will learn about the history and meaning of the symbols before creating their own interpretive artwork. Their works will be displayed on 8’ x 3’ surfaces, which will be hung on the fence that surrounds the museum’s outdoor space.
“Juneteenth Outdoor Installation” opens Thursday, June 19, 2025, as a semi-permanent exhibit. The museum will be open for self-guided tours from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Recommended donation is $20 per person; children under 3 and members are free.
In front of the museum, visitors can experience a different exhibit, which was created and installed by local multi-media artist Sharon Koskoff and museum educator Fabiola Bernier on May 18, 2025, as part of the museum’s Delray Beach Family Affair. Delray Beach Family Affair recognized Florida’s Emancipation of enslaved persons — May 20, 1865.
Entitled New Beginnings, the upcycling project invited the community to honor Florida’s Emancipation by crafting orange blossoms from twigs, newspaper, and orange and green masking tape. The project celebrates freedom and the rich cultural heritage of Florida. Orange blossoms, Florida’s state flowers, which symbolize purity, innocence, fertility, and good fortune, are often associated with new beginnings. The Orange blossom is a significant part of the cultural identity and farming history of Florida, especially for people of the African Diaspora, who played a vital role in Florida’s agricultural development.
Participants created their own orange blossom art pieces using upcycled materials and included a personal reflection, hope, or message about freedom, renewal, or the meaning of emancipation, on a slip of paper, which was placed inside their handmade blossom. The blossoms are on display on a tree in front of The Spady Museum as an exhibit, which is lit up at night with orange lights.
New Beginnings will be on display through June 19, 2025.
Water Works Distillation, a personal, artistic and cultural exploration of people’s relationship with water, is on display in the museum’s galleries. Originally opened February 2025, new pieces have recently been introduced to the show, while others have been removed, bringing new life to the exhibit. Audiences are welcomed back to discover refreshed perspectives about water and our connection to it.
Water Works Distillation will be on display through September 2025.
What is Juneteenth?
On June 19, 1865, the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official January 1, 1863.
Juneteenth celebrates not only the national day, which is also known as Emancipation Day, but also a corresponding day in Florida’s history. In Florida, Union Brigadier General Edward M. McCook established his headquarters at the Hagner residence, known today as the Knott House, in Tallahassee. Immediately following the Civil War, General McCook was responsible for announcing the Emancipation Proclamation. A series of celebratory events are normally scheduled in Tallahassee on and around May 20.
ABOUT THE SPADY CULTURAL HERITAGE MUSEUM:
The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum was established in July 2001 by the non-profit organization, EXPANDING AND PRESERVING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE, INC., a 501(c)3 Florida organization. Located in the 1926 former home of educator Solomon D. Spady, the museum preserves and shares local Black history with Delray Beach Black archives, exhibits, bus tours, walking tours, commemorative events and youth mentoring. Hours: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday-Saturday; all other hours are by appointment. (561) 279-8883; wwwspadymuseum.com
Spady New Beginnings 1 & 2: In front of the Spady Museum through June 19, New Beginnings, the upcycling project invited the community to honor Florida’s Emancipation by crafting orange blossoms from twigs, newspaper, and orange and green masking tape.
