The Amistad Center for Art & Culture

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture presents two to three exhibitions a year at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Exhibitions produced by The Center are exciting investigations of various issues relating to the African American experience. The educational programs that accompany these exhibitions not only present fresh perspectives about African American culture, but also encourage visitors to reflect upon their own perceptions. Admission to The Amistad Center for Art & Culture and The Wadsworth Atheneum of Art is free for members.

Ellington, Waters, Koehler Arlen Mills Music, Stormy Weather, 1933, sheet music, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, Inc; Simpson Collection, AF 1987.1.3339

War Prizes: The Cultural Legacy of Slavery & the Civil War

Opens September 10, 2011 - March 11, 2012

Click here for the official flyer.

The Amistad Center's exhibition, War Prizes, recognizes the Civil War
Sesquicentennial, as well as the War's complex legacy for African Americans.
It was one of the greatest periods of cultural transformation in African American history. As the nation fought for reunification, African American leaders managed to safeguard and deliver their cultural heritage from the tumult of war through Reconstruction and into the 20th century's freedoms. The anniversary is an opportunity to reconsider the ways iconic aspects of African American culture have journeyed through American history. This exhibition will run from September 2011 through February 2012 at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

In books, songs, stories, performance, and early images, a fictive demeaning impression of Blacks emerged from the antebellum period. They were a poor reflection of the cultures African captives left behind and equally flawed representation of the new culture created in America. The Civil War propaganda intensified and disseminated the most popular and often inaccurate cultural impressions whose eradication would become the life work of the first generation of Blacks born into freedom, and their children.

For many 20th century African American arts and cultural figures, the legacy of slavery and the Civil War defined career, influenced private life, and left lasting emotional issues to resolve as they endeavored to reclaim their culture and imagery. Arguably the emotionally charged imagery is the war's most powerful and pervasive legacy. It permeated 20th century American popular culture and the lives of those who created and enjoyed it and those who were victims of it. In direct presentations like the movie Gone With the Wind and in more subtle ways, the Civil War helped shape 20th century American popular culture. This is the narrative of War Prizes.

The exhibition, War Prizes, follows the Civil War's impact on performers, the arts, and humanities through the 20th century. Objects from The Amistad Center for Art & Culture's collection of 19th century prints, photographs, and ephemera will introduce slavery and the Civil War. The Amistad Center's documentation of the Lincoln presidency, Frederick Douglass-related objects, the Center's tintype and ambrotype series, and Harpers' Weekly newspapers will introduce the War and the reasons behind it.

The exhibition follows the trajectory of activists, religious leaders, entertainers, and others who committed themselves to tackling and transforming segregation, inaccurate depictions in popular culture, economic inequities and other difficult legacies of the Civil War. Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, Ethel Waters and others whose careers began early in the 20th century will be the basis of a conversation about the direct impact of slavery and the Civil War on African American performance culture. Objects from The Center's literary collections along with postcards, early recordings, and sheet music will be included. Audio of this early music will be present in the galleries. The exhibition is also an opportunity to showcase pieces from The Amistad Center's advertising collections along with selections from the early 20th century, stereotypic objects to illustrate the post-Civil War imagery

A final section will present mid-late 20th century photographs and fine art emphasizing the relationship between art, celebrity, and the modern civil rights movement. Lena Horne, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin - each represented in the collection - are among the best examples; the struggles they faced were testament to the impact of slavery and the Civil War upon 20th century popular culture. Their achievements prove an evolving skill in negotiating a past that is always present for Black America. Selections of work form the Wadsworth's extraordinary collection of contemporary art by artists such as Glenn Ligon and Jacob Lawrence and the loan of a single stunning portrait of Ms. Horne from the Smithsonian will punctuate the exhibition and illuminate the narrative.

War Prizes is sponsored by the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.

Also made possible by the J. Walton Bissell Foundation with additional support
from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism

Educational materials and programs are sponsored by

The Bassist by David Driskell

Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David Driskell Part 2, 2000 - 2007

March 19, 2011 - August 7, 2011

A selection of over 75 fine art prints created by David C. Driskell, Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Maryland, artist, educator, and curator of African American art and culture. The exhibition will be presented in two-parts based on the chronology of his artistic process and development. Exclusive to the Amistad venue are African art works from his private collection. The exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the Africa Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park and is curated by Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, Curator-in-Residence (2007-2009).

It is made possible through the support of a special fund from the Office of the President, University of Maryland, and major support from Maryland State Arts Council.

This exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

This presentation of Evolution at The Amistad Center for Art & Culture is generously sponsored by Travelers, with additional support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. Educational materials and programs are supported by the GE Foundation.

Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David Driskell Part I, 1952 - 1999

October 30, 2010 - March 6, 2011

A selection of over 75 fine art prints created by David C. Driskell, Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Maryland, artist, educator, and curator of African American art and culture. The exhibition will be presented in two-parts based on the chronology of his artistic process and development. Exclusive to the Amistad venue are African art works from his private collection. The exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the Africa Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park and is curated by Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, Curator-in-Residence (2007-2009).

It is made possible through the support of a special fund from the Office of the President, University of Maryland, and major support from Maryland State Arts Council.

This exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

This presentation of Evolution at The Amistad Center for Art & Culture is generously sponsored by Travelers, with additional support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. Educational materials and programs are supported by the GE Foundation.

High Water Marks: Art and Renewal After Katrina

May 1, 2010 - September 19, 2010

To view the exhibition catalogue click here

From New Orleans' earliest days, the work of Black artisans made the city a colonial prize and distinguished it from other ports. It fascinated Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect of the U.S. Capitol, who kept a sketchbook and diary of his time in early 1800s New Orleans. He describes a Sunday morning walk through the market and the vibrant presence of Black women vendors shouting the praises of their food. Latrobe was one of many visitors who recognized the importance of New Orleans' Black artisans, and one of the few to document it. During slavery, Black artists and the arts played an essential role in the life of the city. Since then, the city's jazz legacy, culinary achievements, architecture, fine art, and distinct Creole culture, have made New Orleans a continually fascinating destination for visitors and a city that continues to insist upon the relevance of arts and culture.

Five years after the hurricane struck the Crescent City, the arts remain an essential aspect of New Orleans and central to its post-Katrina renewal effort. From May-September 2010 the exhibition, High Water Marks: Art & Renewal After Katrina, will present the achievements of a range of artists who have documented the city's devastation and are committed to the city's recovery. The exhibition presents a brief history of New Orleans focused on the importance of arts and culture with a foundation of Amistad Center collection material, especially trade cards and photographs. The introduction establishes the importance of Black artisans in colonial New Orleans and references the emergence of iconic cultural forms including jazz, vernacular architecture, politically significant moments in New Orleans history (Plessy v. Ferguson), and food. On view will be an excerpt from Benjamin Henry Latrobe's Impressions Respecting New Orleans, 1820, published 1951. Collection objects to be include the postcards Praline Seller, New Orleans, 1915; New Orleans Sugar Cane Scene, 1920; Aunt Shug who makes Pralines, 1900; and a Luzianne Coffee box from 1902. Lithographer Jules Lion's portraits of New Orleans' society figures affirm the presence of 18th and 19th-century black artisans.

Contemporary art created in response to Katrina's impact will be featured including post-Katrina images by photographers Deborah Willis and Lewis Watts; Charly Palmer's Yellow Ochre, 2007, mixed media and Donald Boudreaux's 2006 mixed media piece The Visitor; Brad McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry's 2008 installation The Evidence of Things Not Seen; John Scott's 2003 woodcut Dangerous; and Willie Birch's 2005 drawing House and Owner on Touro Street.

The arts continue to be an agent in renewing and rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina by generating media coverage, creating income, attracting tourists, comforting through beauty, and witnessing with outrage.

This exhibition is generously supported by the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.

Digging Deeper

September 19, 2009 - April 4, 2010

Digging Deeper is a rare and exciting collaborative project engages artists Willie Cole, and Hank Willis Thomas, in the exploration of The Amistad Center's important culturally specific collection and the Wadsworth Atheneum's renowned and diverse collections to produce an exhibition, including new works that will enlighten and entertain our public community. The exhibition will juxtapose collection materials and Cole's and Willis Thomas' original works to challenge viewers to think about contemporary art in an historical context, traditional art in a contemporary context, and the capacity of multiple generations and forms of art to document, comment on, and sometimes change history. This exhibition will celebrate and demonstrate the perspectives and skills of two extraordinarily talented contemporary artists, through whose eyes we will see anew two historic collections.

Cole is an internationally renowned sculptor and printmaker. Since the late 1980s, he has been recognized for his extraordinary ability to transform found objects. Cole's first works employed irons and ironing boards to create images of slave ships, African masks and brand-bearing West African warrior shields. From his iron works, to his lemon-juice and iron scorched works on paper to his most recent sculptural reflections using old shoes, Cole captivates art audiences with his imaginative reinterpretation of everyday objects, revealing their social, historical, metaphorical and aesthetic value. Cole enjoyed a one-man show at MOMA, NY, and his work is currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Willis Thomas' works often comment on branding and the commodification of African American culture. Best known for his photographs, Willis Thomas works in a wide range of media including film and site specific installations. He often combines historical illustrations, portraiture, and product design with references to consumer culture. The resulting works at times evoke a wry humor or a withering critique. In 2002 Willis Thomas gained wide recognition for a series called B®anded, a group of images created by digitally adding a scarred "Nike" logo to the chest and head of an African American male model. In this series, Willis Thomas highlights the complicated role of African American males in the production and consumption of their own images in the marketplace. More generally this provocative series of photographs focuses on consumer branding within America's commodity-obsessed culture, and the extent to which advertisers target racial groups and exploit the Black male body for marketing and product promotion. Similar to the works of Andy Warhol and other appropriation artists of the 1980s, Willis Thomas alludes to the psychological repercussions of these representations and how these characterizations shape and define the public's perceptions about race and class.

This exhibition is sponsored by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Edward C. and Ann T Roberts Foundation. With additional support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.

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