Two special exhibitions highlighting Black artists opened at the Cincinnati Art Museum February 25 as part of a partnership with community organizations to create public program supporting concurrent exhibitions including David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History and Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop.
The Black Future Series, which is made possible by the efforts of the Cincinnati Art Museum, ArtWorks, Cincy Nice, OhioDance, the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Art Center, and WordPlay Cincy, is a multifaceted series of happenings and conversations within the museum as well as in surrounding neighborhoods.
The series represents each organization’s active response to themes of engaging established and aspiring Black visual and performing artists in building mentor networks, creating and occupying creative platforms within and beyond art institutions, sharing histories, and nurturing artistic growth and excellence.
The initiative was inspired by the book Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham. The Black Futures Series is supported by GBBN, LPK, and the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Ohio Arts Council. Additional support has been provided by Ohio Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the federal ARP Act of 2021.
According to the Cincinnati Art Museum, there are four main areas of collective action in the Black Futures Series, each offering multiple dates and ways to engage:
Active Imagination: ArtWorks Spring Youth Artist Exhibition
April 29–June 10: ArtWorks Youth Artist Exhibition at ArtWorks V2 Gallery
April 26–May 2: Active Imagination Workshop Artwork on view at Cincinnati Art Museum
Aspiring youth artists will learn about photography under the mentorship of four local African American photographers: Allen Woods, Louis Rideout, Frank Young and Briana Davis. The program culminates in two spring exhibitions: one at ArtWorks V2 Gallery in Walnut Hills and a second the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Past, Present, Future: with ROMAC and OhioDance
March 16: Artist talk and panel
Two-part virtual event will begin with an artist talk by choreographer Countess V. Winfrey, followed by a dance and arts community leaders panel discussion, Artist Pathways: Writing Successful Project Proposals. Co-organized with OhioDance.
April 14: ROMAC panel at the Cincinnati Art Museum
ROMAC will host a keynote panel discussion concerning the history of Black artists and collective actions in Cincinnati. Panelist information and registration information forthcoming.
May 6: Homage: What was, Is, To Come
Experience a performance of a new dance work by choreographer Countess V. Winfrey. Featuring an original score and a spoken word tour guide, Winfrey’s Homage transports the audience through museum spaces in a three-part performance bringing light to the Black experience of the past and present and the dream of a Black Future in the Now. Commissioned and organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum in partnership with OhioDance.
Creativity in Dialogue: Response Series with WordPlay Cincy and Cincy Nice
April 7, 14, 21, 28: Creative responses from WordPlay Cincy will enliven the exhibition galleries every Thursday evening during April. Further event details forthcoming.
The museum is open until 8 p.m. every Thursday and admission to both special exhibitions is free.
April 29: Walnut Hills Jazz Progressive with Cincy Nice and Art After Dark at the Cincinnati Art Museum
Venues in Walnut Hills will feature musical responses to the exhibitions, with drop-in hours following Art After Dark at the museum (5–9 p.m.) and the opening of the Youth Artist Exhibition at ArtWorks V2 Gallery. Full schedule forthcoming.
Black Futures Series—An Archive
After the conclusion of the exhibitions and all programs, Cincinnati photographer Asa Featherstone will publish a commissioned artist’s book documenting the collaborations. This project is a contribution to the formation of the archives necessary to write Black art history—a concern centered in the work of Driskell and the Kamoinge photographers.
You can find more information about each event on the Black Futures Series webpage. You can also find information regarding film screenings and other programs association with the exhibitions at cincinnatiartmuseum.org.