Emancipation opens Friday

Conceived as a commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation visualizes what freedom looks like for Black Americans today and the legacy of the Civil War in 2023 and beyond. Opening this Friday, Feb. 16, Emancipation highlights the perspectives of contemporary Black artists, featuring commissioned and recent works by Sadie Barnette, Alfred Conteh, Maya Freelon, Hugh Hayden, Letitia Huckaby, Jeffrey Meris, and Sable Elyse Smith. 

The artists responded to John Quincy Adams Ward’s bronze sculpture The Freedman (1863) from the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s collection. Initially sculpted by Ward before the end of the Civil War, the figure is depicted on the cusp of liberation, having ruptured his bonds, though they are still present as a reminder of his enslavement. Supplemented by loans of Civil War materials from national and local institutions and historically relevant objects from WCMA’s collection that further enhance our understanding of past representations of Blackness, Emancipation demonstrates how historical art collections can serve as a resource and inspiration for contemporary artistic practices.

An opening celebration will be held Friday, Feb. 23, with a reception at 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by a conversation with exhibition curators Destinee Filmore (MA ’23, WCMA Curatorial Mellon Fellow ’21-’24), Maggie Adler (BA ’99, MA ‘11), Curator of Paintings, Sculpture, and Works on Paper at the Amon Carter Museum, and Maurita N. Poole PhD (WCMA Curatorial Mellon Fellow ’13-’15), Executive Director of Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University.

Emancipation

WALLS turns 10

On Feb. 16, 2014, students headed to WCMA to wait in line in 16-degree weather for their chance to borrow an original work of art to hang in their dorm as part of the very first Pickup Day for our WALLS (Williams Art Loan for Living Spaces) collection.

After conceiving of the idea in 2012, museum staff worked with students over the next two years to create the program and curate the collection. An MA student in the art history grad program scoured galleries and collections to identify works of art to be presented to a committee largely made up of other students. After hours of conversations and looking at many objects, that group settled on 90 works that formed the initial collection. Among these were gifts made by alumni and donors eager to share their own experience of living with art directly with students. Ten years later, the collection has grown to 125 works of art, and students continue to find their way to the WCMA patio (and sometimes Goodrich) to wait for their chance to bring a work of art back to their dorm room for the semester.

We are celebrating this milestone on Friday, Feb. 16, with hot cider, cupcakes, and fun.

10 Years of WALLS

Jen White-Johnson on YouTube

As part of the campus-wide Claiming Williams Day, WCMA hosted artist, designer, and educator Jen White-Johnson, who gave a talk titled “Amplifying Access and Abolishing Ableism: Designing to Embolden Black Disability Visual Culture.”

Jen highlighted initiatives and curatorial projects they have been a part of, including examples of colleges collaborating with disabled artists. They also shared the possibilities of disability justice in the context of museum and university spaces.

If you missed their talk, head over to WCMA’s YouTube page to watch!

WCMA on YouTube

Admission: Free and open to the public
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
More Info: artmuseum.williams.edu