Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
The eagerly anticipated Harlem Festival of Culture has just gotten a big boost, as the iconic Michael Bivins has been tapped to be its creative director.
On Tuesday (April 26th), news broke that one of the founding members of New Edition and a highly respected industry executive would be joining the group behind the Harlem Festival of Culture in the role of creative director. Bivins, who has been lauded as a community ambassador, spoke about the new role as he was being interviewed for an upcoming documentary on his life and career, The Hustle of @617MikeBiv.
Bivins issued a statement about his new role, saying: “My role as Creative Director of the Harlem Festival of Culture came about because I work closely with Yvonne McNair, CEO of Captivate Marketing Group (CMG) and Co-Founder of Harlem Festival of Culture. With my understanding of what she does with CMG and just knowing how important the original Harlem Cultural Festival was to the community and to our culture, was very inspiring so when I was offered the opportunity for a seat at the table, I knew I wanted to be part of it. I am honored to be part of it! Although I am from Boston I have always spent a lot of time in Harlem and participated in the EBC at Rucker Park for years in Harlem and I always appreciated how unique the culture is there. I understand the renaissance of fashion, music, and the attitude of Uptown. My goal as Creative Director is to bring in that history and appreciation with an infusion of music and sports.”
In a separate statement, the HFC co-founder and technical producer Yvonne McNair expressed her joy at Bivins becoming part of the team. “Much like the original festival, artists’ voices will be a crucial part of the Festival’s foundation and expansion as they will help us create a unique one-of-a-kind experience. We are also looking forward to fostering relationships with other artists and entertainers to be part of HFC (we definitely have a special role for Harlem artists, in particular). This is just the beginning!”, she said.
The multi-day event, inspired by the original festival that was avidly captured in the award-winning Summer of Soul documentary produced by Questlove, will take place in the summer of 2023.
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