Baltimore Museum of Art’s Great Migration exhibit opens Sunday

The Great Migration, a term used to describe the historic movement of roughly six million Black people from the American South to far corners of the country, and world, shifted the history of the United States in innumerable ways.

Black people were hoping to flee Jim Crow laws of the South for more idyllic pastures and jobs to provide for their families. Some were successful, others were not. All were changed.

The legacy of that movement touched Jessica Bell Brown and Ryan Dennis, two curators who have put together a show at the Baltimore Museum of Art that hopes to illuminate the multifaceted legacy.

Attendees of the Baltimore Museum of Art's premiere of the exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration," view artist Mark Bradford's work, "500," on Oct. 26. The exhibition showcases artists whose work tells the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

The North Baltimore museum opens the show, ”A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration,” on Sunday. The show features 12 original commissioned works — including sculptures, videos and other art — with the theme of the Great Migration.

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“Ryan and I really wanted to focus on the long durée of the Great Migration and the fundamental impact it has had in our history and the way it shows up in the present moment,” said Brown, department head of contemporary art at the BMA, at a Wednesday press opening for the show.

“What does it mean to stay or leave,” she asked.

The show opens with a staggering sculpture from Torkwase Dyson, a New York-based artist who created a powerful trapezoidal structure of black glass and steel. The sculpture shares space with a Mark Bradford piece that hangs on the wall and features a wanted ad for “500 Negro Families” to move to Blackdom, New Mexico, where Black Americans were hoping to create an all-Black community.

Artist Akea Brionne poses with her work, "An Ode to (You)'all," at the unveiling of Baltimore Museum of Art's exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration." Brionne is one of the newly-commissioned artists featured in the exhibition, which aims to showcase the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

Installations were created by Zoë Charlton, Carrie Mae Weems, Akea Brionne, Larry W. Cook, Theaster Gates Jr., Allison Janae Hamilton, Leslie Hewitt and Steffani Jemison.

Brown stressed the intricate and unique effects of the migration on each artist.

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She said they were careful not to fall into a trap of focusing on the trauma of the migration. As they began commissioning artists, various themes emerged — themes of connection, memory and family are strong throughout the exhibition.

Teri Henderson takes a photo of artist Robert Pruitt's work, "A Song for Travelers," at Baltimore Museum of Art's premiere of the exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration." The exhibition showcases artists whose work tells the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

Tracey Beale (left) and Chloë Williams (right) take photos of artist Robert Pruitt's work, "A Song for Travelers," at Baltimore Museum of Art's premiere of the exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration." The exhibition showcases artists whose work tells the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

Each of the pieces in the show is an intimate reflection of the artists’ families. Weems builds on a violent attack her grandfather suffered while fighting for equal rights. Jamea Richmond-Edwards’ vibrant painting depicts her own family traveling together, adorned in jewels, while being guarded by a large leviathan. Cook’s works contemplates father-son relationships across distance.

“We hope that what you’ll come away with is a completely new lens for this complicated history,” Brown said.

The show opened originally in Jackson, Mississippi, at the Mississippi Museum of Art, where Dennis is chief curator. It runs at the BMA through Jan. 29, and then will continue on to other museums.

Attendees of Baltimore Museum of Art's premiere of the exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration," view artist Theaster Gates Jr.'s work, "The Double Wide," on Oct. 26. The exhibition showcases artists whose work tells the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

Featured artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards (left) talks about her work with Safiyah Cheatam (right) at Baltimore Museum of Art's exhibition, "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration." The exhibition showcases artists whose work tells the personal stories and widespread impact of the Great Migration. (Julia Reihs/for the Baltimore Banner)

During the Sunday opening, the BMA will hold workshops for all ages as well as a livestreamed talk with Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer-winning author of “The Warmth of Other Suns,” a seminal text on the Great Migration.

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With the exhibition, the team has also created greatmigrationlegacies.org, a digital storytelling platform that encourages visitors to share their own stories of migration. The site will collect stories from visitors wherever the exhibition travels. When the exhibition’s run is over, the storyteller will receive a copy of their story via email.

For people interested in hearing stories in person, the BMA will host the popular Stoop Storytelling series on Nov. 3, when people will tell stories about escape and exodus. An artists talk for the exhibition will be held Dec. 15 and will feature Charlton, Dyson and Richmond-Edwards in conversation with curator Brown.

Asma Naeem, interim co-director and the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown chief curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art, said the exhibit “is like a zebra with sparkles on it,” because of its rigorous scholarship and breathtaking commissions.

imani.spence@thebaltimorebanner.com

Imani Spence

imani.spence@thebaltimorebanner.com