Black Artists, Then And Now, On View In Wilmington, Delaware And Philadelphia – Forbes

Hank Willis Thomas, All Power to All People (2020).

When Percy Ricks reached out to the Delaware Art Museum searching for a location to host the revolutionary exhibition he was curating, he didnt even receive the courtesy of a return call. Not only was the museums answer no, it was delivered with an insulting dismissal at his even imagining to exist on its level.

Big mistake.

That was 1971.

Ricks was Black.

The Delaware Art Museum was white, its brick exterior disguising its white insides: a white director, white board and white curators representing white patrons looking at white artists in a white neighborhood.

Ricks would have to settle on the Wilmington Armory to host his show.

What a show it was.

Black artists who had achieved recognition and would go on to become icons of American artRomare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, Los Mailou Jones, Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, Hale Woodruffwere joined by up-and-coming Black artists as well as local Black artistsHumbert Howard, Simmie Knox, Edward Loper, Sr., and Edward Loper, Jr.

Photograph of Delilah Pierce, Alma Thomas, and Dorothy B. Porter with Larry Erskine Thomass ... [+] AfricaThe Source during Afro-American Images 1971 opening, Wilmington Armory, Delaware, 1971.

Ricks (19232008) mined his deep connections across the artistic community to assemble an exhibition which proved broadly representative of African American creativity circa 1970. From Washington, D.C. where he was born and educated at Howard University, to Philadelphia where he earned a graduate degree at Tyler School of Art and exhibited his own work, to New York where he earned a second graduate degree at Columbia Universitys Teachers College and established a friendship with a pillar of the Black art community there, Bearden, Ricks brought artists working in a variety of styles, across various media, exploring a range of content together under one roof.

His guiding philosophy for Afro-American Images 1971 was a purposeful commitment that the exhibition be organized by the recommendation of those who are totally involved and committed to the Black art community, particularly the artists themselves in his words.

On the 50th anniversary of the show, the Delaware Art Museum makes amends for its historic snub by presenting Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks, a restaging of the exhibit.

Presenting Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks cannot right the countless wrongs the Delaware Art Museum committed in the past, but it is an essential first step in publicly acknowledging its past, the role it played in upholding institutional racism and its exclusion of so many people and stories, Margaret Winslow, Curator of Contemporary Art, Delaware Art Museum, told Forbes.com.

The show has been rehung as accurately as possible to its original version. Fifty-eight of the 66 artists participating in the 1971 exhibition have items on view here, including some of the exact same pieces.

Percy Ricks with painting c. 1970. Unknown photographer.

Wilmingtons Black community was staggered in 1971. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated in 1968. The frustration of mourners who took to the streets remembering him evolved into two-days of unrest, looting and vandalism.

That uprising resulted in a nine-month occupation of the 40% Black population city by the National Guard, the longest military occupation of a U.S. city since the Civil War. Another racist page from American history largely ignored.

It was against this backdrop that Ricks formed Aesthetic Dynamics, Inc., a local organization supporting Black artists in the community. Afro-American Images 1971 would be the first major undertaking for the organization which persists to this day and partnered with the Delaware Art Museum in presenting the rebooted show.

The Delaware Art Museums institutional racism led to an incomplete understanding of this moment in history, Winslow said of the museums refusal to host the show. We can gain much in acknowledging that and exploring what other work needs to be done.

The Museums other work to correct its historical biases has included years of serious research, publications, visual and performing arts commissions, and exhibitions centering the diverse stories of our citys contemporary art history, Winslow remarked, adding, internally, these changes have led to an intentional centering of diverse local perspectives throughout the Museums galleries and a practice of seeking guidance from community partners and advisory committees.

Black Orpheus, 1969, Humbert Howard (19051992). Oil and collage on Masonite , 49 3/4 40 inches. ... [+] Delaware Art Museum, Gift of Dr. John E. and Carol Hunt, 2009.

Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks comes as the result of seven years of research at the Museum along with input from a committee of dedicated and knowledgeable community advisors and the work of current and former Aesthetic Dynamics members.

It is the work that the Museum must do to ensure that it supports its community, celebrates its creativity, and preserves those histories for future generations to ensure the wrongs of the past are not perpetuated today, Winslow said.

Anecdotally, the Museums efforts appear to be working. Winslow recounts the recent remarks from a longtime school partner on changes she has seen during student tours.

In the beginning, students liked the art, but couldnt connect with it. Now, the artwork they see looks like art they can do. The people in the art look like people they know. The stories seem like their grandparents stories. They can see themselves, Winslow recalled being told, adding that the partner shared, the most important thing the Museum is doing is listening.

These comments reflect the Museums progress in centering center diverse voices in special exhibitions, within the permanent collection galleries and in Museum programs.

There remains much work to be done to respond to our history of exclusion and create a more equitable Museum. This work requires a continued commitment to address and overthrow systems and power structures rooted in inequity, deep engagement with our Black audiences, shared authority, and responsiveness to our community's interests and needs, Winslow said. Ricks' legacy offers a model for honoring the rich diversity of our local artists, learning from the expertise of our communities, and assessing our history of exclusion to shape a more inclusive future.

How does the show, on view through January 21, 2022, hold up 50 years on?

It feels as inspiring and relevant today as it must have 50 years ago! Winslow said. Indeed, the word used most often by visitors to describe how they feel after seeing the exhibition is inspired.

Coby Kennedy Kalief Browder: The Box (2021).

Four contemporary art superstars, Black artists who took inspiration from and stand on the shoulders of the historic artists featured in Afro-American Images 1971, now have major public installations on view in Philadelphia, 30 miles north of Wilmington.

The Monumental Tour, an exhibition empowering social change through the arts, puts Arthur Jafa, Coby Kennedy, Christopher Myers and Hank Willis Thomas in a group exhibition through January 31, 2022.

The works call attention to each artists distinct visual voice and simultaneously they engage with one another in a curated discourse, Marsha Reid, the director of Kindred Arts which has produced the exhibition, told Forbes.com. Collectively, the works honor and examine aspects of the African American experience, from the first slaves brought over in the 16th century to the present-day prison pipeline and the struggle for liberation in between. Individually, the sculptures invite the viewer to consider themes such as colonization, oppression, privilege, Black middle-class labor, and the decline of industry, Black pride, Black power, Black joy and subjugation.

Reid carefully considered public sites along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Delaware River Waterfront to place each artwork. For Kalief Browder: The Box, she chose Thomas Paine Plaza.

Directly facing City Hall, the building and plaza have been a historic backdrop to life in Philly for more than half a century. Most recently, citizens protested and demanded the removal of a polarizing larger-than-life statue of Frank Rizzo, Mayor of Philadelphia, former police commissioner and an overt symbol of white police officers' brutal treatment of black people and other minorities, she explained. It was fitting that the first monument to inhabit this site since Rizzos removal is Coby Kennedys protest piece. The work is a critique of the gross abuses of civil liberties found in the carceral systems.

Each site throughout Philadelphias Center City where artworks have been placed is highly visible.

Directly adjacent to the magnificent Central Branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia was Shakespeare Parka resplendent oval that was a perfect debut site for Christopher Myers piece Caliban's Hands, Reid said. The title references a character from Shakespeare's Tempest. Many consider the play an allegory of European colonization.

Christopher Myers, Caliban's Hands (2020).

Monumental Tour sites are free to visit.

Hank Willis Thomas: All Power to All People. Eakins Oval, 2451 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Christopher Myers: Calibans Hands. Shakespeare Park, Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Coby Kennedy: Kalief Browder, The Box. Thomas Paine Plaza, 1401 John F Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Arthur Jafa: Big Wheel IV. Cherry Street Pier, 121 North Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Located within walking distance of all of these locations except for the Cherry Street Pieras well as the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Artthe Logan Hotel places guests directly in the heart of the citys cultural district and amongst its collection of almost 2,000 artworks created by local artists making it the ideal accommodation for time spent in Philadelphia.

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Black Artists, Then And Now, On View In Wilmington, Delaware And Philadelphia - Forbes