"In the early 1990s, Drexciya, a Detroit-based techno duo made up of James Stinson and Gerald Donald, imagined an underwater kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who had been thrown overboard or jumped voluntarily into the ocean during the transatlantic slave trade. Drexciya’s founding myth has inspired numerous artists, among them Ayana V. Jackson who, in this exhibition, brings to life an immersive, feminist, and sacred aquatopia where African water spirits from Senegal to South Africa both midwife and protect the Drexciyans. Jackson asks that we reckon with the brutal history that cast these beings to the sea while simultaneously envisioning a world of powerful, resilient women. By using her own body to convey her message, Jackson actively engages in what it might have meant to be among the estimated two million captives who never made it to shore. What do you imagine the Drexciyans see looking back at us?" - From the Deep, National Museum of African Art

Today I joined curators and artists for the opening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition, 'The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture'. I listened to gallery talks by curators Karen Lemmey, Grace Yasumura, and Tobias Wofford for an in-depth look at themes in the exhibition, then mingle with artists whose work is on view, including Elia Alba, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Raven Halfmoon, Young Joon Kwak, Julia Kwon, Cathy Lu, Gabriela Muñoz, Pepón Osorio, Jenea Sanchez, and Maggie Thompson. #exhibitionopening #saam #dc

At the National Museum of Women in the Arts today, viewing 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘪: 𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. "Combining richly colored textiles, found objects, beads, and more, multidisciplinary artist Suchitra Mattai (b. 1973, Georgetown, Guyana) explores themes of history, identity, and belonging. The forces that lead certain stories to be remembered, or forgotten, are central to her art. Drawing on her Indo-Caribbean roots, Mattai weaves together personal narratives, collective mythologies, and colonial history. Her two- and three-dimensional works offer a reimagined vision of the past that centers the perspectives of women and people of color, especially those from South Asia." #dc #artgallery #suchitramattai

At the Women's March on Washington- I am elated, I am angry, I am devastated, I am hopeful, I am not alone. #womensmarch #dc #legalizeabortion #womensrightsarehumanrights

Good morning from the Renwick Gallery. ☀️ "The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks. This exhibition presents an alternative history of twentieth-century American art by showcasing the work of artists such as Emma Amos, Sheila Hicks, and Faith Ringgold, who, stitch by stitch, utilized fiber materials to express their personal stories and create resonant and intricate artworks." #renwickgallery #dc #artgallery

Immensely enjoyed wandering through 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 & 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩: 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪 at the National Gallery of Art this morning. "Art flourished in Haiti—the world’s first Black republic—in the mid-1900s. Painters like Hector Hyppolite, Rigaud Benoît, and Philomé Obin were known around the world for their images of Haitian daily life, religious traditions, and history. Their works influenced generations of African American artists. Several, including Lois Mailou Jones and Eldzier Cortor, traveled to and worked in Haiti." #artgallery #dc

Had a lovely time meandering through 'James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance' at the National Portrait Gallery today. ❤️🌈 "In 1948, when the great American writer James Baldwin (1924–1987) was twenty-four years old, he left New York for Paris. He knew no French and had only forty dollars to his name. But the burgeoning novelist, essayist, and playwright felt he had to leave America to free himself from the racism that conspired to hinder his growth as an artist. In France, Baldwin created a kind of extended family that included the American painter Beauford Delaney and the musician Nina Simone—artists who, not unlike Baldwin, had survived poverty, segregation, and homophobia to become significant figures on the world stage. After nearly a decade in Paris, Baldwin felt compelled to return to the United States. In 1957, he caught a glimpse of a picture of Dorothy Counts facing a hostile white crowd as she made her way to integrate a high school in North Carolina. “The photo made me furious,” Baldwin recalled. “Everybody else was paying their dues, and it was time I went home and paid mine.” Back home, Baldwin wrote, marched, and made speeches while supporting the work of activist friends and associates, such as Lorraine Hansberry and Bayard Rustin—queer thinkers who, despite their exceptional rhetoric, were not out during the civil rights movement; the general feeling was that their difference would undermine the cause. Toward the end of his life, Baldwin talked about his sexuality more openly, but it was his strong desire to always “bear witness” during troubled times, in troubled lands, that helped inspire the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, poets Essex Hemphill and Marlon Riggs, and many other intellectuals. This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance, which takes part of its title from a short story Baldwin published in The Atlantic in 1960, is a reckoning of sorts—an homage to Black queer force as it continues to live and feed this nation’s activist spirit." - National Portrait Gallery #artgallery

𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘎𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘥 in the 'Whose Power on Display?' Gallery 10 the Manchester Art Gallery: In 2018 the gallery temporarily removed 𝘏𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘴 (1896) by JW Waterhouse, replacing it with a series of questions to encourage conversation. The takeover was filmed and Sonia Boyce has worked with this material to create 𝘚𝘪𝘹 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘴. Visitors covered the wall with written notes in response to the temporary removal and the act prompted a huge public reaction.

This morning I visited 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 by the Filipino and Taiwanese-American artist duo Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien, on view at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Enzo and Ami have a collaborative practice that addresses forms of resistance within globalised economies of labour, particularly in the context of Southeast Asia. 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 builds on the artists' long-term research concerning the island of Negros in the Philippines, where Enzo's mother is from. The island is dominated by a plantation-based sugar industry that is dependent on the monopolistic control of land and the exploitation of seasonal labour. This industry emerged in the mid-19th century, formed around the Spanish colonial hacienda system of land ownership established over the previous 300 years. Its growth was partly stimulated by a Glasgow based company- Loney, Ker & Co- who sought to import Scottish textiles to the Philippines and export cheap sugar from Negros and the neighbouring Panay island. #glasgow #art #artgallery

Finally got the opportunity to see 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 today, which is on view at @mount_stuart_visual_arts until 25 August! #mountstuart #albertawhittle #art #artgallery

I'm so glad to have the opportunity to return to St Andrews for @sharedislandsta @icofom_icom conference. What a wonderful whirlwind of people, presentations, and conversations.

Navigating the sunny fjords of Oslo! 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 #oslo #norway

Rembrandt and Vermeer and Van Gogh oh my 🇳🇱 #rijksmuseum #vangogh #amsterdam #arthistory #artgallery

Visiting Rubens and Van Eyck in Ghent, Belgium. 🇧🇪 #arthistory #vaneyck #arthistory #rubens

Roamin' Rouen 🗡 #normandy #rouen #arthistory