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Wells Fargo Promotes African American History through Art as The Kinsey Collection Exhibition Moves to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

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Wells Fargo Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture

  Media Contacts:
    Samantha McCoy
MissionKey Communications
samantha@missionkeycomunications.com
443-574-4138
Michael McCoy
Wells Fargo
michael.mccoy@wellsfargo.com
202-303-3029

Wells Fargo Promotes African American History through Art as The Kinsey Collection Exhibition Moves to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum  

National art tour honoring the 150th Anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation wraps in Baltimore with exhibit, community programs and lectures  

(Baltimore, MD) September 16, 2013 – Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) concludes a year of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation as its national tour of The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard & Shirley Kinsey – Where Art & History Intersect makes way to its final stop.  The exhibit contains a world-class collection of art and artifacts chronicling African American history and culture dating back to the 1600s, including an early copy of the Emancipation Proclamation.

In partnership with some of the nation’s leading African American museums, the tour officially launched during Black History Month at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, CA, before moving on to The Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, NC where it will be until October 12, 2013. The tour concludes at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore with the exhibit on display from November 2, 2013- March 2, 2014.

“The appreciation of culture, diversity and human rights is at the heart of our vision and values,” said Andy Bertamini, Wells Fargo’s Regional President for Maryland. “Creating this national tour provided Wells Fargo with the perfect opportunity to encourage conversations about the value of diversity and inclusion while allowing us to recommit to the fundamental principles of equality that promote community, mutual understanding and shared success.”

In addition to hosting the nationally acclaimed exhibit at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Wells Fargo will present special events in Baltimore in conjunction with the museum.  Activities include a lecture on African American history featuring Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, as well as special events hosted in partnership with community organizations.  “I am especially excited about the Kinsey collection because it is the perfect example of how art can be used to explain history. It is a privilege for us to bring an exhibition to Maryland that has gained so much prominence throughout the country,” says Dr. A. Skipp Sanders, executive director of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

Bernard Kinsey, avid collector, philanthropist and educator, began this collection over 35 years ago with his wife Shirley and son Khalil.  Bernard was inspired to begin his collection after viewing an original bill of sale of William Johnson sold for $550 in 1832.

“The Kinsey Collection strives to give our ancestors a voice, name and personality, enabling the viewer to understand the challenges, obstacles, triumphs and extraordinary sacrifice of African Americans who’ve greatly contributed to the success of this country,” said Bernard Kinsey, “We are excited to collaborate with Wells Fargo in developing this special program honoring the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.”

As an extension of the celebratory campaign, Wells Fargo recently launched the Untold Stories: Our Inspired History campaign. The campaign features a four-part short film series narrated by celebrity influencers, Jordin SparksLauren LondonLance Gross and Talib Kweli taking viewers through specific points in history highlighting artifacts from The Kinsey Collection. The campaign also extends into the social media space with the launch of multiple video vignettes featuring prominent lifestyle bloggers sharing their personal stories.

For more information or details on the Untold Stories: Our Inspired History campaign, please visit http://www.wellsfargo.com/kinseycollection.

For a limited time, customers wishing to “own a piece” of the collection can personalize their Wells Fargo debit and/ or credit card with a select piece of art from The Kinsey Collection. Customers can visit Wells Fargo Card Design StudioTM  at: http://www.wellsfargo.com/carddesignstudio  and select Kinsey Art in the image library.

Wells Fargo customers can take advantage of free admission to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum on Wells Fargo Customer Appreciation Days with photo identification and any valid Wells Fargo credit or debit card. This offer is valid on the second Saturday of the month, December 2013 through February 2014. See schedule below for specific dates.

Kinsey Collection Events

  • Thursday, October 31, 10 a.m. Media Preview (RSVP required, call 443-574-4138)
  • Saturday, November 2, 2-4 p.m.  Opening Day Talk with Collector Bernard Kinsey
  • Dec. 14, 2013; Jan. 11, 2014; Feb. 8 2014: Wells Fargo Customer Appreciation Days

Related Museum Programs   

  • Saturday, October 12, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Black Memorabilia Collector’s Fair
  • Saturday, November 9, 2 p.m.  Saturday’s Child Maryland Emancipation Day Program
  • Saturday, November 16, Noon.  An Artifactual Journey: From Slavery to Civil Rights with Philip J. Merrill

For detailed descriptions and the latest updates, visit http://www.RFLewisMuseum.org.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2013 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.  Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at blog.wellsfargo.com.

About The Kinsey Collection

The Kinsey Collection strives to Educate, Motivate & Inspire Americans to learn more about the remarkable contributions of African Americans in building America. The Kinsey Collection has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and scores of television/radio shows and newspapers/magazines nationally. It has been cited in three national awards including the nation’s highest honor, The President’s Medal for Museum and Library Services, and was selected as one of the “Top Ten exhibits to see in the world”. With their son Khalil, the Kinsey’s have developed a 198-page coffee table book that has been adopted by the State of Florida to teach African American history, and a companion lecture series titled “What You Didn’t Learn in High School History”. The Kinsey Collection exhibition has been on display in eight museums including the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, with an iteration of the collection showing at EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World Resort through 2015.

About the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture is Baltimore’s premier facility highlighting the history and accomplishments of African Americans with a special focus on Maryland’s African American community. A Smithsonian affiliate, the museum is the East Coast’s largest African American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with ample permanent and special exhibition space, interactive learning environments, auditorium, resource center, oral history recording studio, museum shop, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, outside terrace and reception areas. The museum is located near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor at the corner of Pratt and President Streets. The museum is also accessible on Baltimore’s Charm City Circulator Orange and Green Routes. For more information, please call 443-263-1800 or visit http://www.RFLewisMuseum.org.

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