FLINT, Michigan — Two large exhibitions focusing on African and African-American art are opening at the Flint Institute of Arts just in time for Black History Month.
On Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, “Engaging African Art: Highlights from the Horn Collection” and “Vanessa German: Miracles and Glory Abound” both begin a multi-month run at Michigan's second largest art museum.
“Engaging African Art” features African artworks from the collection of Dr. Robert Horn, who began collecting African art more than 50 years ago. The collection includes objects from more than including masks and small-to-medium-sized figures representing various spiritual, social, and ceremonial messages. The exhibition demonstrates the rich diversity of African visual expressions and cultures.
“Miracles and Glory Abound” is centered around the power of storytelling. It visually delves into the way a story can transform depending on who tells it. Drawing from Emanuel Leutze's 1851 painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware” (currently on view in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art), German reimagines the iconic image using her own power figures to create a conversation about public memory and the rewriting of history through the lens of privilege. The exhibition surveys the complicated, nuanced history of the United States and the ways in which that history relates society today through violence, hate, and materialism.
“Engaging African Art” runs through May 26 and “Miracles and Glory Abound” runs through April 20.
Special event: Visitors have the opportunity to meet Vanessa German from 1-2 p.m. Sunday, January 27, in the FIA’s Hodge Gallery. Museum admission also is free on this day to all visitors.
For more information, visit
flintarts.org.
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