Special Events Page - Upcoming shows - A Perfect Union Art Gallery

Curated by JoKeeta Johnson
Presented by A Perfect Union Art Gallery
Regional Focus: North America (Mexico, United States, Canada)

A Perfect Union Art Gallery warmly invites the community to experience "Every Step Counts", a powerful group exhibition highlighting artists with heritages rooted in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, including Indigenous peoples of North America, and honors the journeys, struggles, and triumphs that shape our shared human story.

OPENING RECEPTION

📅 Saturday, March 7, 2026

📍 A Perfect Union Art Gallery
9401 West Colonial Drive, 

Ocoee, FL (West Oaks Mall)

RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

🗓 March 7 – March 25, 2026

This exhibition honors the unsung heroes—known and unknown—whose courage, persistence, and sacrifice have advanced humanity. The works presented reflect individuals and collective movements that have made meaningful contributions in areas such as:

• Social Justice & Human Rights
• Nature & the Natural World
• Military Service & Protection of Freedom

Whether historical, contemporary, personal, or ancestral, Every Step Counts recognizes that progress is built one step at a time—and that every step matters.

The exhibition features a range of media including:

• Paintings on canvas
• Paintings on wood
• Sculpture

JoKeeta Johnson is a curator with A Perfect Union Art Gallery and leads the North America regional exhibition as part of the gallery’s global cultural series. Her curatorial vision centers on honoring legacy, resilience, and the power of collective memory through contemporary artistic voices.

Every Step Counts is a tribute to those who walked before us, those who stand with us now, and those whose footsteps will shape the future. We invite you to join us for the opening reception and to experience this meaningful exhibition during its run.

Location & Contact:

Gareth Edwards
A Perfect Union Art Gallery
9401 West Colonial Drive
Ocoee, Florida (West Oaks Mall)
📞 407-961-9135

Come celebrate art, heritage, and community with us.

✨ Free & open to the public. All are welcome. ✨

A Perfect Union Art Gallery – Celebrating American Diversity

RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

“Ushirikiano baina ya Afrika na Waamerika wa Afrika”
Connections Between Africa and African Americans

Curated by Pamela Bussey, this powerful exhibition is part of our ongoing gallery series celebrating the global heritages of Central Florida residents, with Pamela leading the focus on the Africa region.

“History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” — James Baldwin

"Ushirikiano" explores connection, collaboration, and shared lineage between Africans and African Americans through the voices and visions of Central Florida artists whose heritage traces back to the African continent. “Ushirikiano,” the Swahili word for cooperation or collaboration, anchors the exhibition’s theme of unity across time, geography, and the African diaspora.

This exhibition is grounded in the understanding that history is alive—carried in language, memory, rhythm, and creative expression. It honors the legacy of those who ensured that African and African American histories would not be erased, from Carter G. Woodson’s establishment of Negro History Week in 1926 to the formal recognition of Black History Month by Congress in 1986. It also acknowledges the power of language itself, from the earliest recorded use of the term “African-American” in an 18th-century pamphlet to its modern embrace as a declaration of cultural lineage and continuity.

Swahili serves as a unifying thread throughout the exhibition. Spoken across at least fourteen African nations and recognized as the official language of the African Union, Swahili symbolizes both historical depth and contemporary connection. Its presence in African American cultural traditions—most notably through Kwanzaa and its guiding principles—reflects an ongoing dialogue between Africa and its global descendants. Today, Swahili is also a bridge to the future, taught in universities across the United States and recognized as a critical-need language that opens pathways in diplomacy, education, technology, and cultural exchange.

Through the works in this exhibition, artists engage the guiding principles that lead from Ushirikiano (Collaboration) to Pamoja (Togetherness), expressed through:

• Upendo – Love
• Uhuru – Freedom
• Umoja – Unity

These values echo across generations and across oceans, reminding us that while names may have changed and languages interrupted, spirit, memory, and creative knowing endured.

🗓 Opening Reception: February 7, 2026 | 5–8 PM

🖼 Exhibition Dates: February 7 – February 28, 2026

📍 Location: A Perfect Union Art Gallery, West Oaks Mall, Ocoee

Come celebrate art, heritage, and community with us.

✨ Free & open to the public. All are welcome. ✨

A Perfect Union Art Gallery – Celebrating American Diversity