Whether it was by banging on an African drum while learning phrases in Yoruba or coloring in Sri Lankan motifs on a community art project, the Cultures Around Us event invited people to immerse themselves in a variety of cultures.
The May 3 event highlighted a wide range of cultures, including African, Asian, Haitian and Hispanic, through art and live performance.
Belina Wright, a self-taught artist based in Florida, decided to host the event in partnership with the Artist With A Purpose art gallery after receiving the United Arts of Central Florida grant.
“We wanted to shine a light on the different cultures,” Wright said. “This event is a way for us just to get to know more about all of the different cultures that surround us in Central Florida.”
Wright received the United Arts of Central Florida Individual Artist Grant in fiscal-year 2024. She used the grant funding to host the “Experience the Culture of Haiti” at Artist with a Purpose, 100 South 4th St., Leesburg.
She also hosted the event in 2025 after receiving the grant
a second year in a row. Wright said after receiving the grant for the third year, she wanted to highlight other cultures and invited Florida-based groups and artists to share their talent and culture.
Four artists, including Wright, displayed their artwork on the walls of the gallery.
Wright’s work was centered around her Haitian culture and was based on photographs she took while in the Caribbean country.
Marian DeJong, of St. Petersburg, said the event was her first time showing her art. DeJong’s work included four large pieces, three small masks and a community art project all focused on her Sri Lankan culture.
“I am very new to painting,” she said. “I became an artist after I retired recently. But I love art and meeting people. It’s my passion. Art brings me absolute peace. It’s a way to show my love for humanity and my love for my roots.”
DeJong’s art illustrated the culture and daily life in Sri Lanka, including women gossiping on the river, women weaving clothes in traditional Sri Lankan fashion and the typical outfit of a Sri Lankan bride.
Along with a list of questions placed around the room to help guide conversations, each artist included a community activity, art project or an educational component to complement their art exhibit.
DeJong welcomed attendees to work with her on a community project. People gathered to color on a long canvas filled with Sri Lankan motifs and symbols. DeJong said she hopes to turn the design int a blanket.
“I want everyone to be aware of the different cultures,” she said. “We are all alive and we bring so much culture. Art, food, fashion, all of these things bring us together. Everyone is connected and this event is a great way to show that by uniting us. Everyone is so different but we all have similar goals in life.”
Priya Persaud and Pretina Persaud, with the Devyani School of Cultural Arts in Orlando, brought Bollywood to the stage with the first live performance of the night.
Priya, director of the school, and Pretina, artistic director for the school, agreed the event offered great exposure to various cultures. Priya also offered free henna tattoos through her business, Pure Henna.
“We are Indo-Caribbean and not many people are familiar with that culture, so this is a great opportunity to share that,” Priya said.
Twirling their brightly colored dresses, also known as a folklórico, dancers with Mexican Danza Orlando took the stage next as the second live performance.
The performance got a wide applause from the audience.
Adetutu and Don Harrell, a husband-and-wife team, took the stage next with 13 African drums.
Forming the Orisirisi African Folklore, the pair spent their time on stage sharing the history of the African drum, how to say phrases in the Nigerian language of Yoruba and lessons shared by the Alọ́s, the African word for storyteller.
“Stories explain why things are the way they are,” Don said. “They teach you right from wrong. This is the time to come together to learn new things and be better for it.”
The pair shared the lessons of the story to “always be yourself” and “if you want something, you have to ask” after telling a story about a dog and a greedy turtle to the beat of the African drums.
Following a quick drum lesson, 10 audience members were invited on stage to play the African drum and Axatses, African shakers, were passed around to those left in the audience.
Whether they were banging the drum, shaking the shakers or clapping their hands, nearly everyone in the room participated in the interactive show. The Orisirisi African Folklore duo ended their performance with the phrase, “peace, love and respect for everyone.”
Omowura Adedayo, who joined the group on stage, said the experience was a great one.
“It was great to see the Orisirisi African Folklore performance,” Adedayo said. “We are a part of the same tribe in Nigeria, so it is great to experience their show.”
Adedayo, an artist from Sanford, also had three large art multimedia pieces on the wall, with each piece showing a person dancing while celebrating a culture within the Black diaspora.
“I’m 20 years old and I’ve been doing art as long as I could hold a pencil,” Adedayo said. “I’ve never received a grant before and this is my first time in Leesburg. I made three new pieces based on the Black diaspora and it was great to show my work as a Black Nigerian.”
Semeione Richardson, owner of Artist With A Purpose, said the event, which also was sponsored by AdventHealth, was successful.
“That is so important, because I don’t think we have a lot of spaces like this where we can express ourselves and come together as a community,” Richardson said. “This was an opportunity for people to come learn or share about their culture.”
Wright said she was pleased with the success of the event.
“I am really happy that we had people participate in all the different activities,” she said. “Hopefully, people were able to learn a little bit and people can show appreciation of our differences.”
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
