The premier showcase for modern and contemporary art from the African Diaspora will be held on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:00 p.m. at the White Plains Public Library. This year’s show will honor Mary Frances Perkins and Max Rodriguez. “The City of White Plains is once again thrilled to be a host location for this important fine arts show as it branches out from its home location in Harlem,” said White Plains Mayor Tom Roach.

This year's theme is “Artists and Authors” and attendees will have an opportunity to view and purchase works by emerging and professional artists and renowned authors David Banks (Soar: How Boys Learn, Succeed, and Develop Character the Eagle Way), Dr. Pauline Mosley (Navigating the Academy: A Guide for Women and Minorities), Dr. Charlotte Phoenix (Revelations), Chanelle A. Watson (From My Heart to Your Soul: A Collection of Poetry To Encourage, Inspire, & Awaken YOUR Spirit) and Helen Williams (mother of singer, actress and first black Miss America Vanessa Williams, and co-author of the memoir You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-Nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss and Each Other).

In addition to featuring artists and authors, the show will pay tribute to White Plains’ own Ms. Mary Frances Perkins, an artist and arts educator serving Westchester County for over 40 years, and Mr. Max Rodriguez, renowned author, publisher and critic of African American literature.

Ms. Mary Frances Perkins graduated White Plains High School and attended Spelman College and Florida A& M University to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts Education and the College of New Rochelle to receive a Master Degree in Arts Therapy. She later returned to White Plains as an arts educator in the elementary, middle and high school levels. Ms. Perkins mentored student teachers and assisted high school students in preparing portfolios for college entrance before retiring from the White Plains City School District in 2007. Ms. Perkins teaches Studio Art at Woodlands High School in Hartsdale, NY, having worked on special art projects for the White Plains Youth Bureau, the Hudson River Museum, and created murals with artist in resident, the late Alton Toby. An Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority member and former YWCA board member, she serves on the Passage to Excellence Board at Bethel Baptist Church and is the President of Pi Iota Omega Chapter in White Plains, NY. She and her husband, Wayne are the proud parents of three adult children, Jonathan, Janeen and Joslyn Perkins.

Mr. Max Rodriguez is the Founder and Publisher of QBR/The Black Book Review, the online literary review named “the African American book review of record” by the New York Times. He is Founder and Director of the Harlem Book Fair, the nation’s largest African American book festival, televised nationally on C-SPANs’ Book-TV; the Westchester Multicultural Children’s Book Festival; and co-Founder of the Newark Book Festival. Mr. Rodriguez is the author of the acclaimed Sacred Fire: The QBR 100 Essential Black Books (John Wiley & Sons, 1999). Recognized and respected as an innovator and expert in audience development and publishing, he has served as moderator and keynote speaker at American Booksellers Association events, Book Expo America, American Publishers Association conferences, and the New York Times author series. He has served on the Board of Directors of Poets & Writers magazine, and serves on the Board of Directors of City University of New York Television (CUNY-TV), the Dallas, Texas-based National African American Read-In, and the Teachers & Writers Collaborative Advisory in New York City.”The Harlem Fine Arts Show Comes to White Plains” is presented by the City of White Plains Youth Bureau and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Westchester Alumnae Chapter, in collaboration with the Harlem Fine Arts Show and The White Plains Public Library.

Tickets to the event are $25 and can be purchased via cash or check from the City of White Plains Youth Bureau, 11 Amherst Place, White Plains, NY 10601 Monday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Saturday: Noon – 7:30 p.m. or via check, mailed to: DST Westchester Alumnae Chapter, P.O. Box 268, White Plains, NY 10602-026