GILROY
– Filled with cultural artifacts, artwork and selling itself as
a place to be inspired, a non-profit organization will open its
doors to the public this weekend.
GILROY – Filled with cultural artifacts, artwork and selling itself as a place to be inspired, a non-profit organization will open its doors to the public this weekend.
“I would call it an oasis, right here on the east side of Gilroy,” said Octavia Butler, founder of the Kemetic Institute Cultural Center and Museum, located at 7469 Forest St.
The house of Kemet is a brilliant light of cultural diversity housed under a local and historical landmark house. Kemet means “The Land of the Blacks,” which was what modern-day Egypt was once called by its inhabitants, and which is thought of by many scholars as the origin of man.
“These are things I’ve collected since the ’60s,” Butler said as she walked toward the gallery, a meeting room with walls filled with African, North American, Indian and Mexican artifacts and artwork.
It’s taken two and a half years for Butler to put the place together with the help of her property manager Tom Maisenbach while working three jobs to help fund the project. Now she’s ready to let people know that the institute is open for people to come and share ideas.
“This is a place people can exchange visions and cultures and learn at the same time,” she said. “The next phase is to make it known that it’s available for rent then shifting to the education programs.”
The Kemetic Institute will hold an open house from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the house, located at 7469 Forest St. Morgan Hill and Gilroy ribbon-cutting committees will be on hand to officially open the doors at 1 p.m. There will be drummers, indigenous performers and music by blues guitarist John Garcia throughout the day along with different foods.
“It’s a simple grand opening, a coming out party,” she said.
The Kemetic Institute will also get Gilroy incorporated in the Bay Area’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration for the first time on Monday.
“The Freedom Train runs from San Jose to San Francisco,” she said. “This will be the first time that Gilroy will participate in the process. The train does start here.
However, to start in Gilroy, it has to start early. Breakfast for the event is at 5 a.m. and there will be a group speaking called Sisters United.
To ride the Freedom Train, people must be at the train station in Gilroy by 6:30 a.m. Tickets to ride the train are $5, and union members’ children ride free. The train will leave the Gilroy station at 7 a.m. toward San Jose.
The Kemetic Institute is the first project of Butler’s nonprofit group, The River Nile Corporation, which she hopes to use to acquire property and business to promote minority diversity and business ownership. She hopes the House of Kemet will be used by groups to hold conferences, families to hold weddings and for people to share with one another.
“This is a start-up model. We want to work with the Gilroy and Morgan Hill nonprofits and corporations, even people in Hollister and San Jose,” she said. “I want to give people an alternative, an iced tea, summer hot day kind of place to have a meeting.”
One recent group to visit the Kemetic institute was a group of debutantes from Palo Alto. The girls came down to use the institutes space to practice setting tables and then visited the Gilroy store Fine Things to learn about the importance of antiques.
Butler said that her price for renting the facility is negotiable, and she can handle up to 75 visitors to the institute at a time.
“Right now, the fee is minimal,” she said.
She is currently working to set up a multicultural board for the center, hoping to find people of different cultures and experiences to help guide the direction of the corporation. She hopes she can find the board members in Gilroy.
“Even though this is a large Hispanic community, it’s also a large traditional community,” she said.
Butler hopes to have a Web site built later on this year and begin holding educational programs, including a computer lab, home economics classes, music classes and more.
“I want to work to develop a safety net to augment things that aren’t taught in the school systems,” Butler said. “We can’t expect the public schools or city to do more than they’re doing. I feel it’s part of my responsibility to do do my part in making this world a better place. … There’s so much that can be done here.”
Growing up in a family with 11 children and constantly moving and meeting new people was the basis for Butler’s life goal, which is to use her time to make the world a better place for everyone.
“I don’t believe in just talking about the problems in our nation,” she said. “It does nothing to complain if you’re not doing anything about it.
“Too many people aren’t finding their way; their just living and dying,” she continued. “Thank God for those who are doing something. There’s room for more people to do volunteer work.”
