The Beginning
In 1967, Benjamin “Ben” Mbroh, the head of the Art Department of Adisadel College, located in Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africa, traveled to America to obtain his master’s degree from Oklahoma City University. Mr. John E. Kirkpatrick and his wife, Eleanor, of Kirkpartick Oil Company, were his sponsors. John Kirkpatrick also provided materials that were transported back to the Department of Arts at Mbroh’s college in his African Hometown.
In recognition of his generosity, Mbroh graciously gifted Kirkpatrick more than 800 African objects of art. These included traditional and modern sculptures, antique musical instruments, paintings, masks, carved doors and textiles from sub-Saharan African – some made by his students.
The coincidence was that Kirkpatrick was just finishing a new building dedicated to housing science and the arts – to which the Omniplex Science Museum would take most of the first floor. The Air and Space Museum and the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum would encompass the entire west end of the building. Meanwhile, there was still gallery space for many of the pieces to be exhibits on the second floor, along with the Red Earth Indian Center. So, the idea was accepted.
Ntu Art Association of Oklahoma, Inc.
Hannah Atkins began to assemble the charter members for an organization to sponsor this exhibit and came up with some twenty-eight people willing to embark on this exciting idea. The charter members were:
- Hannah D. Atkins
- Johnnie Cash
- Mary Moulder
- Calvin Whittaker
- Oscar Rice
- James Black
- Anita Bridges
- Julia Anderson
- Gayle Brown
- Maedella Cox
- Dr. Ruth Faine
- Dr. James Ellis
- Dorothy Dulaney
- Saretta Finley
- Juanita Harris
- Joyce Jackson
- Reba Pat Kemp
- Sylvia Lewis
- Ben Mbroh
- Wallace Owens
- Alma Pringle
- Alma Salter
- Daisy Sanford
- Dr. Olaseinde Sawyer
- James E. “Jimmy” Stewart
- Melvin Tolson, Jr.
- Bettye Wedgeworth
- Palmer Williams
Some of the charter members went down to Kirkpatrick’s Oil Company office located at NW 13th and Broadway Streets and over the course of several trips, loaded the art into various vehicles. The precious items were transported to the Kirkpatrick Center – the new, quite expansive, educational showplace of Oklahoma City. Once there, the pieces were re-catalogued and some were positioned on the walls, as there were no display cases or other exhibit sources available.
The sponsoring organization was named “Ntu”, a Bantu African word, pronounced “en-too” and meaning “essence or being”. African art and life are one, and the collection imparted the message “there is unity in all life”. Ntu embraced the idea that the culture of a people is expressed through its art. This was a way to help Oklahoma children and adults understand a culture other than their own, for their world was becoming increasingly multicultural. The organization’s purpose was “to promote an understanding and appreciation of African art, traditions, and culture”. In pursuit of this goal, the contributions of African art towards civilization was prioritized and showcased.
Benjamin Mbroh served as consultant for the African Gallery even after returning to Ghana, West Africa, and Hannah Atkins was the first president. However, there was a need for a professional art curator for the entirety of the new Kirkpatrick Center. Atkins suggested to Kirkpatrick that a good person for the position would be an art curator who helmed from Maryland by the name of William Hommel. Dr. Hommel, who earned his Ph.D., had worked in various art galleries, traveled to Africa on many extended stays, and taught African art on the east coast.
Dr. Hommel accepted the position in January 1980. While setting up the African Art Gallery, he moved his family to Oklahoma City. With hammers, saws, construction materials and help from some of the local high school vocational students, the cases and exhibit stands were constructed and placed in what would later become “The Sanamu African Art Gallery”. Sanamu is a Swahili word meaning “statue or idol”. In spite of standard construction issues related to security and climate control, the challenges were resolved and the gallery was completed.
Dr. Hommel served as curator for a short time before also becoming the Kirkpatrick Center’s director. He served in this expanded position until 1984, when he left to take a teaching position, his first love, at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Dr. Hommel continued working park time with Ntu through a special grant.
By this time, the African Art Association was pursuing additional activities such as exhibiting the works of African American artists from around the nation. Dr. John Biggers from Arizon travel to Ntu for a week, exhibiting his work and speaking at various Oklahoma City high schools in conjunction with Ntu’s purpose of “creating understanding”. Geoffrey Holder, the Trinidadian actor, choreographer, dancer, prolific painter, costume designer, singer, and art collector, also exhibited his large-scale paintings at the Kirkpatrick Center in September 1986, as part of Ntu’s programming. In conjunction with local artists, works of other well-known artists were exhibited on an annual cycle with many top-level opening galas.
Grace Holden, Christine Pollard, Mary Ann Harris were in charge of each of these receptions. Likewise, the artwork for all brochures, invitations, the Afro-American Hall of Fame, and etc., were completed by Johnnie Cash. Public receptions were held monthly and co-sponsored by various organizations. The educational classes were instituted in cooperation with Oklahoma City Public Schools, with Bettye Wedgeworth serving as the Educational Committee chair and teacher from 1988 to 1999. During her tenure, six different courses were offered. Additionally, group tours were made available and a “Day Camp” was held each summer through the efforts of the docents and education committee members.
Providing musical entertainment was the Oklahoma City guitar friends in a “Jazzin’ Conversation”. The artists included: Charles Burtin, Garrett Jacobson, Edgar Scott, Joe Bob Nelson, Rocky Armstrong, and Maurice Johnson – backed by the Bottom Line Transaction (BLT) Band.
The Future
The Kirkpatrick Center name was changed through the years to “Omniplex” reflecting the many museums and galleries located inside the building. The Omniplex then transitioned to the “Omniplex Science Museum” and later to the “Science Museum of Oklahoma” – the latter names reflecting the new and complete focus of the structure. In 2005, with a revised focus, Ntu’s office, art, and activities, which had been housed in that building since 1979, were moved to the Langston University Oklahoma City Urban Center building. It is there that the African-American Hall of Fame is proudly displayed, after a grand reopening on July 11, 2009.
Although the educational classes and some of the activity focus shifted along with the move, Ntu is strong, well and lives on under the presidency of William “Bill” Broiles, and its officers. And it is still making a difference in Oklahoma City.
Ben Mbroh passed, unexpectedly, on September 29, 2009, in his homeland of Ghana, West Africa. His passing occurred thirty years after the opening of the art gallery that was a direct result of his memorable efforts in America. He was 73 years old and departed this land leaving his wife and five children.
The aforementioned philanthropists Eleanor Kirkpartrick and John E. Kirkpartrick passed in May 1997 and October 2006, respectively.
History by: Bettye Wedgeworth
