About this Event
Infinite Pasts and Ancestral Futures: The Works of Biggers and Woodruff is a conversation between Alvia Wardlaw, Ph.D., Founder and Director of the University Museum at Texas Southern University, and Clarke Brown, Special Projects Curator at CAU Art Museum.
How do murals tell a people's story? Join Clark Atlanta University Art Museum Special Projects Curator Clarke Brown, and renowned art historian and Director of the University Museum at Texas Southern University, Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, for a conversation exploring the rich lineage of Black mural traditions, with a focus on artists John Biggers and Hale Woodruff.
This program centers the monumental murals featured in the At The Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs exhibition that highlights the importance of HBCUs in commissioning, collecting, and preserving Black art.
Together, they’ll explore how these legendary artists drew inspiration from the African diaspora and 20th century Mexican muralism to create powerful visual histories centered on Black heritage. This discussion will explore the global influences that shaped their artistic practice and examine how these visionary artists used large scale murals to communicate Black history.
At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs weaves together stories of ingenuity, artistry, persistence, and resistance through the transformative world of HBCUs. Featuring over 130 objects from the collections of five universities, the exhibition explores their diverse practices in the arts, dynamic academic programs and innovations, and groundbreaking activities on and around their campuses.
HBCUs have always been sites of cultural vibrancy and educational enrichment for students, faculty, staff, and surrounding communities. These historic institutions have grown exponentially from their humble beginnings. Today, the contents of HBCU campus museums and archives are the vanguard of collecting institutions in the making and saving of African American history.
This is the inaugural exhibition of the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium, an effort established by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to enhance awareness of and access to collections and archives held by HBCUs. At the Vanguard features collections from the initiative’s initial cohort: Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, and Tuskegee University.
At the Vanguard is a collaboration between the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. It is part of the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium Initiative made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and a bequest from Dr. Beryl Carter Rice.
The exhibition is supported by CBRE, Google Arts & Culture, Johnson & Johnson, the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Corporate Leadership Council, the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Members, Southern Company Foundation, The TJX Companies, Inc., and TOYOTA.
Event venue & nearby stays
Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, 223 James P Brawley Dr SW, Atlanta, United States
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