LOS ANGELES, CA.- The California African American Museum announces its latest exhibition, “Evolution of the Revolution,” currently on view through June 26, 2016. “Evolution of the Revolution” is a multi-media installation that explores the African American revolutionary path from the Transatlantic Middle Passage to the present day political arena. It includes pivotal moments such as the Underground Railroad and Civil Rights Movement in a unique show of display.

The exhibition was created by Surreal Box Cinema, an artistic collaboration between two experienced set designers, photographer Lynn Rossi and conceptual artist Nichelle Evans. The two artists merged their creative skills and experience as set designers to develop a unique experience for art, culture and history enthusiasts that pays tribute to the men and women who triumphed over slavery and struggled to gain equal rights.

“Nikki and I wanted to create a body of work that tells the stories left out of the history books. We wanted to create a visual journey, from past to present, about the African American experience,” says Rossi.

The exhibition includes large scale photos, in which the artists captured by creating elaborate staged sets that featured models posed with a variety of props. Installed in the exhibition are several of the props used in the photos and a life size retro-style bus to celebrate Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders as the original riders of justice and freedom. The artists hand-crafted most of the props, spending at least three to six months creating each prop. Yet, the Rosa Parks prop took a year to create due to its size.

“We have worked together for more than six years to make this vision come to life,” adds Rossi. “We’ve also collaborated with people from all over the world and all walks of life including refugees who escaped the Rwandan Genocide, to those living on Skid Row in Los Angeles. I think the most exciting part of doing this project is what we’ve learned about ourselves and from others, as we created these time capsules to be sent out into the world.”

“When you walk in this exhibition, the similarities of the events unfolding in today’s political movements and the ones displayed in Surreal Box Cinema’s props and photos are reminders that there is still work to be done for fairness and equality,” says CAAM’s Executive Director George Davis. “One of our roles as the largest African American cultural institution on the West Coast, is to help make those parallels transparent to the community and art is an excellent way to do that.”