Emma Amos, Camille Billops, Brianna Rose Brooks, Lex Brown, Vivian Browne, Addoley Dzegede, Ines di Folco, Margo Humphrey, Devin N. Morris, Alison Saar
DON’T YOU MISS US?
July 18 - August 16, 2024
Curated by Alyssa Mattocks and Ethel Renia
“When Europe and the East look at this country, they steal our rap and hiphop, our blues, jazz, and country-western, our graffiti, movies, and pop performances, our sneaker-wearing, hard-working women, and our prejudices. Who says the mainstream is the blue chip artist? The mainstream is me, baby-darling. “Why am I so concerned since I am one of those people who seemed to be in many places at once? Because usually, when you see me, you’ll also see Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold, Vivian Browne, Camille Billops, Clarissa Sligh, Deborah Willis, Lorna Simpson, and maybe Tyrone Mitchell, Mel Edwards, Jackie Whitten, Al Loving, Houston Conwill, Terry Adkins, Bill Hutson, James Little, Giza Endesha Daniels, James Andrew Brown, Howard McCalebb, and the other hardworking black artists who gather in support of each other. But we know that most gatherings of artists, curators, dealers, and critics at museums, galleries, art societies, and socials are without us. DON'T YOU MISS US WHEN WE'RE NOT THERE?”
Emma Amos, “Contemporary Views on Racism in the Arts,” essay, in M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists’ Writings, Theory, and Criticism (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2000), 204–8.
“When Europe and the East look at this country, they steal our rap and hiphop, our blues, jazz, and country-western, our graffiti, movies, and pop performances, our sneaker-wearing, hard-working women, and our prejudices. Who says the mainstream is the blue chip artist? The mainstream is me, baby-darling. “Why am I so concerned since I am one of those people who seemed to be in many places at once? Because usually, when you see me, you’ll also see Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold, Vivian Browne, Camille Billops, Clarissa Sligh, Deborah Willis, Lorna Simpson, and maybe Tyrone Mitchell, Mel Edwards, Jackie Whitten, Al Loving, Houston Conwill, Terry Adkins, Bill Hutson, James Little, Giza Endesha Daniels, James Andrew Brown, Howard McCalebb, and the other hardworking black artists who gather in support of each other. But we know that most gatherings of artists, curators, dealers, and critics at museums, galleries, art societies, and socials are without us. DON'T YOU MISS US WHEN WE'RE NOT THERE?”
Emma Amos, “Contemporary Views on Racism in the Arts,” essay, in M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists’ Writings, Theory, and Criticism (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2000), 204–8.