MEN OF CHANGE: POWER. TRIUMPH. TRUTH. profiles the revolutionary men—including Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, W.E.B Du Bois, and Kendrick Lamar—whose journeys have altered the history and culture of the country. The achievements of the men are woven within the legacy and traditions of the African American journey—achievements of excellence in spite of society’s barriers.

Through literary and historic quotes, poetry, original works of art, dramatic photographs, and a dynamic space that encourages self-reflection, this innovative exhibition weaves together the historical and the contemporary to illuminate the importance of these men within the context of rich community traditions. It invites visitors to consider predominant narratives and engage in the authentic stories of history, politics, art, culture, and activism. Twenty-five contemporary artists were invited to reflect and celebrate the significance of these ground-breaking individuals through their own creative vision. These works of art serve as counterpoint to the sumptuously backlit photographs and inspiring quotes, and together honor the truth of the African American experience in history and today.

While these men made their mark in a variety of disciplines—politics, sports, science, entertainment, business, religion, and more—all understood the value of asserting their own agency by owning their own stories.

Men of Change was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and made possible through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.

Artist: Alfred Conteh, Portrait of Ryan Coogler
Mixed Media on Canvas, 84″ x 47.75″ x 2.75″, 2018

April 20 – June 15, 2019

about the exhibition | exhibition essay

Featured artists: Tawny Chatmon, Alfred Conteh, Jerrell Gibbs, Karina Griffith, Jas Knight, Arvie Smith and Felandus Thames.
Exhibition essay by Halima Taha. Curated by Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis

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April 20 – June 15, 2019

Artists’ Talk: June 15th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Curators: Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis

Galerie Myrtis and The Agora Culture present Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power, and Narrative. In asserting the beauty of the black body, affirming its power — and societal and historical place, curators Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis offer a counter narrative to the racist archetypes that evolved from 18th century minstrelsy, and its negative stereotyping of African Americans that prevails today.

The exhibition explores contemporary notions of black identity through photography by Tawny Chatmon, and painters Alfred Conteh, Jerrell Gibbs, and Jas Knight; and offers an investigation of blackface from a historical perspective presented in paintings by Arvie Smith and multidisciplinary works by Felandus Thames. The addition of a compiling video by filmmaker Karina Griffith captured in Berlin, Germany evokes the maligning of blackness through an international lens.

In addressing the insidious nature of minstrelsy and the appropriation of black culture — to deploy and rationalize the subjugation of African Americans for financial gain, Frederick Douglass described blackface performers as:

“…the filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from us a complexion, denied them by nature, in which to make money, and pander to the corrupt taste of their white fellow citizens.”
Lott, Eric (1993). Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press.

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