“Intergenerational Cultural Transmission”:
Art, Culture, History, Society and Liberian Identity:
Reflections on the Meaningfulness of the Kendeja Cultural Center in the 21st Century

The 2008 November issue marks five years of electronic publication for us at Sea Breeze Journal of Contemporary Liberian Writings. The journal has been indexed in various prestigious humanities databases (Humbul Humanities Hub, University of Oxford, Brown University, Columbia University, Stanford University, among others), including receiving an invitation to submit information for inclusion in the Modern Language Association's International Index of Journals. Our editor and founder Stephanie Horton received the 2007 Victor E. Ward Educational Fund's Crystal Award for outstanding achievement in the Arts/Literary Works under the theme: “Liberian Women of Influence.” We are proud of this recognition of our hard work and what it means for Liberian artistic expression. However, we mark our fifth year anniversary with heavy and sobering reflections given the continued devaluation, marginalization, neglect, disrespect and exploitation of Liberian artistry across all disciplines, from all sectors of our society. Our stats have climbed steadily, but our fundraising thrust to generate donations for support in doing this work has fallen on rocky soil, and we witness the closure of a cultural institution to be replaced by an American-owned hotel – the only multi-ethnic national cultural location for the arts in the entire history of our country, that for many of us was a place enshrined in memory for its scenic beauty, cultural relevance, and actualized accomplishments.

We are accepting submissions for our anniversary issue under the umbrella theme, "Intergenerational Cultural Transmission: Art, Culture, History, Society and Liberian Identity: Reflections on the Meaningfulness of the Kendeja Cultural Center in the 21st Century". The plight of the dislocated artists that kept Kendeja going mirrors a deeper schism and disconnect in our national consciousness. We seek not to politicize the issue with incendiary screeds, but rather to offer reflective, provocative, transgressive intellectual thought against the status quo from various perspectives that goes deep and brings to public discourse and our national consciousness other ways of seeing and thinking about Liberian identity and the cultural arts.

The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2008. Please visit the submissions page for general guidelines.

Submit editorial inquiries and submissions to the Editor: editor@liberiaseabreeze.com