Collective preservation / Liberation

By altering a typical maid’s uniform, Mary Sibande creates a visually striking sculpture that gives a voice to domestic servants from her own family and South Africa more broadly. The title refers to the practice of white employers giving African women basic English names like Sophie rather than learn to pronounce their real names. The bold and luxurious dress endows the figure with an individual personality and queenly demeanor that suggests ambitions of a life beyond serving others.

Exploring the legacies of colonialism and enslavement in the Caribbean, Andrea Chung considers the myth of Drexciya, a Black Atlantis populated by the descendants of pregnant African women who tragically jumped or were thrown overboard on their journey into enslavement. Rather than succumb to death, the women gave birth to babies who survived underwater and formed a peaceful new world in the Atlantic Ocean. The outstretched arms conjure alternative histories and reach for a future made possible by Black resistance, perseverance, and communal activism.

Chung has created several sculptures of extended arms that are inspired by the history of enslaved midwives in the United States. Often reaching out from walls and up from the ground, their hands are positioned for “catching babies,” a slang term used by Black midwives in the 19th century to refer to their crucial role in delivering the children of fellow slaves and slave owners. Chung envisioned the arms underwater, where they are poised to catch the children of Drexciya.

Chung earned a BFA from New York’s Parsons School of Design and an MFA from Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art. Born in New Jersey to parents of Trinidadian and Jamaican Chinese descent, Chung has taken inspiration from her multiracial heritage to create an imaginative body of work based on the varied experiences of Caribbean communities.

Shellyne Rodriguez considers the survival of marginalized communities in the Bronx and the communal experience of urban walking, slow and steady. Quoting from hip-hop culture, art history, and music mixtapes, Rodriguez augments the walkers’ steps with words in multiple languages. This drawing was inspired by the early hip-hop song "Set It Off"(1984) by Strafe. Rodriguez also adapted the spatial and line designs from hip-hop flyers created by Bronx handbill artist Buddy Esquire.

Shellyne Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican artist, activist, and educator based in the Bronx. She earned her BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York and her MFA from Hunter College. Rodriguez specializes in drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture. Her upbringing is reflected in her artworks that document culture and communities located in South Bronx.

In this work, Carrie Mae Weems contrasts her black shrouded form with the white classical Jefferson Memorial. The image reminds us of the histories of colonialism and slavery, in which Founding Father Thomas Jefferson is implicated, and the exclusion of women and people of color from such spaces of power. The questioning stance that Weems takes connects to national discussions of contested history, Civil War monuments, and the goal of more equitable futures.

The name Sankofa comes from the Twi language of Ghana, Africa, and translates roughly as “go back and get it.” The idea of Sankofa is often represented as a heart or bird-shaped symbol. It represents the importance of reflecting on the past to build a successful future. In this quilt Marla Jackson uses the concept to pay homage to her sisters and mother as well as African American artists of the past, embedding their creative essence in the fabric.

Marla Jackson is an artist, author, and historian based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her mission is to recover and recuperate local Black history through narrative art. Jackson’s quilts, murals, and mosaics impressively visualize the stories of freedom-seekers from the Civil War era. Since 2012, Jackson has researched the life of Maria Rogers Martin, a Black woman who was kidnapped out of Missouri and brought to Kansas by Union soldiers in 1861. Jackson discovered that not only was Martin an exceptional quilter, Martin’s quilts are also among the oldest preserved quilts created by enslaved Black people in the Midwest.

vanessa german’s sculpture features a bicyclist inspired by minkisi power figures from West Africa that are used for protection and healing. Like these figures, Blessing of the Boats is encrusted with nails, shells, beads, and bones, a rich array of objects intended to enact its power. The artist sees her female power figures as warriors who are ready to mobilize in defense and preservation of Black dignity and equity.

Made of sheer pink nylon and lace edged with thick bands of steel wool, Mimi Smith’s Steel Wool Peignoir is an early icon of the feminist art movement of the 1970s. The contrast of materials suggests movie-star glamour combined with the drudgery of housework and transforms the negligée into a protective armor for the bedroom, highlighting both social conformity and the potential hazards of domesticity. For Smith, the piece signifies the harsh realities of marriage in contrast to its idealistic expectations.