Your guide to the National Black Arts Festival

"Unexpected Encounters" is the theme of the 2011 National Black Arts Festival, and, indeed, there are many acquaintances worth making (or renewing) as the popular event hits full stride this week. Centered in downtown and Midtown Atlanta, especially next weekend when Centennial Olympic Park becomes the festival's nexus, the NBAF continues through July 17. Here's a rundown:

Performances, programs

- Chuck Davis, creator of African dance celebrations in New York, Washington and Chicago, launches DanceAfrica! Atlanta, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. July 17. The concerts will feature South African contemporary dancer-choreographer Vincent Mantsoe; traditional South African gumboot dancing from Lesoles Dance Project; Atlanta's Giwayen Mata dance troupe; and master kora player and griot Diali Keba Cissokho. $25. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St., Atlanta.

- "Interpretations: Black Visual Art – Past, Present and Future" pays tribute to five master artists (Elizabeth Catlett, Samella Lewis, Betye Saar, Richard Mayhew, Thornton Dial and David Driskell) and also celebrates the centennial of Romare Bearden birth, 8 p.m. July 14. $25-$45. Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta.

- The O'Jays, standouts in last year's multi-artist tribute concert to Curtis Mayfield, return for the 2011 Legends Celebration, 8 p.m. Friday in Symphony Hall. $35-$65. Symphony Hall.

- The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra plays its annual festival-closing concert at Ebenezer Baptist Church at 7 p.m. July 17. Free. 407 Auburn Ave., Atlanta.

In Centennial Olympic Park

• The International Marketplace, July 14-17, will feature more than 100 vendors and artists peddling carved-wood sculptures, handmade jewelry, clothing and more. 5-9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Free.

• On the NBAF Main Stage, July 15-17, the musical menu covers gospel, the blues, jazz, world music and more. Artists include Sandra Hall, Río Negro, Joyce Cândido, Nanny Assis, Orquesta MaCuba, Donnie, Kathleen Bertrand, Gregory Porter and Omar Sosa, and there will be a tribute to Gil Scott-Heron featuring Malcom Jamal-Warner, Joi and Jessica Care Moore (at 1:45 p.m. July 17). 5-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, noon-8 p.m. July 17. Free.

• The Children's Education Village features a variety of hands-on experiences for ages 5-12, including a visit to a kid-sized version of Martin Luther King Jr.'s boyhood home, a hands-on African village and a family stage. Noon-4 p.m. Saturday and July 17. Free.

Exhibits

• "Inside & Out," sculptures by Melvin Edwards and works on paper by Peter Saul, opens Friday at Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. The artists make reference to the everyday world and socio-political realities: Edwards by using chain, bolts and tools in his compressed wall sculptures; Saul through the use of cartoon imagery depicting public figures, food and language. Reception 8-10 that night. Through Sept. 18. 535 Means St., Atlanta.

• Atlanta photographer Sue Ross' "Sankofa, Looking Back to Move Forward," opening Friday at the Rialto Center for Performing Arts, explores the evolution of the NBAF from 1988 to 2010. Opening reception and artist talk, 6 that night. Through Aug. 26.

• ZuCot Gallery in conjunction with Premier Art presents "Views, Moods, Attitudes: Life Perspectives from Acclaimed Atlanta Artists," showcasing works by Aaron F. Henderson, Alfred Conteh, Charlotte Riley-Webb, Patricia Bohannon and Reginald Laurent. Opening reception, 6-10 p.m. Friday. Artists talk, 7 p.m. Through Aug. 14. 100 Centennial Olympic Park Drive South, Atlanta.

• "Works on Paper: Freddie Styles and Lynn Marshall Linnemeier" opens Saturday at Avisca Fine Art. A reception for the two long-time Atlanta artists will be held at 6 that night. Through July 30. 507 Roswell St., Marietta.

• Trenton Doyle Hancock is the subject of an ACA Gallery of SCAD exhibit, "We Done All We Could and None of It's Good." The Houston multimedia artist is known for works that pit good guys known as the "Mounds," colorful half-animal-half plant creatures, against the evil black-and-white underground "Vegans." Through Aug. 28. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta.

• Atlanta artist Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier's "Douglass' Douglasville: A Journey Project," on view at Mercer University's Douglas County Regional Academic Center, is a site-specific art installation that explores the history of Douglas County and the legacy of diversity of Frederick Douglass. Through Aug. 12. 975 Blairs Bridge Road, Lithia Springs.

• Large-format photographic portraits by Jason Florio from his "Silafando" and "Makasutu" series, taken during a dozen years in Gambia, opens Friday at Hagedorn Foundation Gallery. Reception, 5:30-9 p.m. Friday. Artist's talk, 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Through Aug. 27. 425 Peachtree Hills Ave., Atlanta.

• "Mixing Metaphors: The Aesthetic, the Social and the Political in African-American Art," an exhibit of 90-plus paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works from the Bank of America collection is on view at the Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Included are works by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Gordon Parks, James Van Der Zee and Ernest Withers. Through July 31. Free with museum admission. 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta.

• "Equal Rites: The Art of Michael D. Harris," opening today at Hammonds House Museum, examines 15 years of the Atlanta artist's explorations of social and historical roots within the cultures of the African Diaspora. Opening reception and artist talk: 2-5 p.m. today. Through Sept. 11. 503 Peeples St., Atlanta.

• "Radcliffe Bailey: Memory as Medicine," the acclaimed High Museum of Art exhibit, explores the influence of the African aesthetic on the Atlanta artist. Through Sept. 11. Free with museum admission. 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta.

Film