To commemorate the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane will host Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation, a free and open to the public art exhibition from August 17th to December 8th.
The Project displays seven installations featuring Black artists Sadie Barnette, Alfred Conteh, Maya Freelon, Hugh Hayden, Letitia Huckaby, Jeffrey Meris, and Sable Elyse Smith. Their works include a variety of mediums spanning sculpture, photography, and paper and textile fabrications. Along with the commissioned works are Civil War era materials loaned by the museum's permanent collection with works by Angela Gregory, Carrie Mae Weems, and the brothers Ellsworth and William Woodward. The Emancipation Project reveals the legacy of the Civil War in 2023 and how it impacts the concept of emancipation and the experience of freedom for Black Americans today.
The Emancipation Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, September 7th from 6pm - 8pm. The Reception will host a conversation between exhibition co-curators Maurita N. Poole, PhD, and Margaret C. Adler and multimedia artist Sadie Barnette about liberatory spaces and the artist's process. The museum will be open for a viewing of the exhibition before the discussion. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be provided.
