The Madison Art Collection and Furious Flower Poetry Center Collaborate on a Dynamic New Exhibition

The Madison Art Collection has debuted its newest gallery, Worlds Within and Without: An Exhibition of Contemporary Black Art, in collaboration with Furious Flower, a poetry center at James Madison University.

The Lisanby Museum, the public gallery space for the Madison Art Collection, and the Furious Flower Poetry Center present artwork from the Art Bridges Foundation in an exhibition celebrating the work of contemporary Black artists. This collaborative exhibition is designed to complement the 2024 Furious Flower Conference, held at its traditional home at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, from September 18-21, 2024. The decennial event is intergenerational, international, and intentional in its focus on the expansiveness of the Black poetic tradition. As the nation's first academic center for Black poetry, Furious Flower has facilitated programming on the local, regional, and national levels.

Worlds Within and Without invites visitors and conference attendees alike to discover artistic responses to unique narratives as well as the universal truths that unite humanity.

Virginia “Ginny” Soenksen, director of the Madison Art Collection and the Lisanby Museum, describes the collection as “very eclectic,” referring to the diversity of mediums and artistic expressions on display.

While there is no single overarching theme, the works all reflect aspects of the Black experience. Soenksen characterized the collection as a “modern history of Black artists represented in a ‘micro’ way.” When asked what emotions she hoped viewers might experience, she emphasized that it’s not for her to dictate, saying:

“It’s not up to me. All [feelings] are relevant, all [feelings] are valid.”

Visitors are encouraged to share their thoughts and emotions by leaving comments on sticky notes, which are displayed for others to read.

When asked if she had a favorite piece in the collection, Soenksen replied:

“It’s like trying to pick a favorite child.”

However, she did highlight Peace the Way Home as a notable work (pictured above), explaining that its inclusion in the collection was an unexpected but welcome addition. After deliberations about a permanent placement, the Madison Art Collection was fortunate to receive the piece on loan.

From the collection:

"Val Gray Ward’s quilted memoir, Peace the Way Home, reflects over 50 years of her personal life, activism, and theatrical career. The title plays on the Black Southern phrase “piece the way home,” but Ward changed "piece" to "peace" to reflect her philosophy and activism.

Ward dedicated the quilt to her childhood friend, Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black Pulitzer Prize winner. When Brooks encouraged Ward to write a memoir, Ward chose instead to weave her life into a quilt, incorporating names, photos, mementos, and textiles from influential figures like Sammy Davis Jr., Maya Angelou, and Sonia Sanchez. The quilt also includes fabrics from Nikki Giovanni’s grandmother, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and many others, creating a tapestry of Pan-African consciousness.

At the center of the quilt is the emblem of FESTAC ’77, a festival held in Nigeria where Ward’s Kuumba Theatre represented the U.S. The quilt symbolizes both a journey home and a celebration of Black heritage and global connections.

A second featured work includes the Mickalene Thomas. From the collection:

The artist’s muse is a trope associated with the white male gaze, in which women subjects in art are valued by Euro-centric beauty standards. Mickalene Thomas resists this gaze in her collaged-media portraits of Black women.

In Portrait of Qusuquzah #5, Thomas’s friend Qusuquzah stares directly at the viewer. Her richly painted skin is adorned by vibrant fields of rhinestones. Depicting lovers and companions as muses, Thomas endows her sitters with individual complexity. She states: 'The women I choose are women that possess a directness in themselves, a palpable confidence that’s attractive to me and that I want to capture. . . I see them as vehicles to express my own feminine self. They’re like catalysts for new forms of expression.'"

This exhibition is made possible in part by the Art Bridges Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to American art.

Patrons can view the collection in person through December 7, 2024 at 1301 Carrier Dr, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, or explore the works through the MAC App available on Android and iOS devices. The app allows users to read more about the pieces and view high-definition images.

For more information about Art Bridges, visit https://artbridgesfoundation.org/
More information can be found at https://www.jmu.edu/madisonart/index.shtml