History Refused to Die

Alabama's African-American Self-Taught Artists in Context

March 14 through May 31, 2015

On view in the Atrium, Blackmon, Goldman, Richard, Rushton, and Weil Galleries

Overview

In commemoration of the fiftieth-anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March, the Museum will present this collection of works by a group of Alabama’s most important self-taught artists who were active in the latter part of the twentieth century.

These artists—Thornton Dial and the Dial Family, Lonnie Holley, Joe Minter, and others—responded to the cultural and social environment of their times through their art. Using found objects as well as traditional art materials, they created works of great power that speak to the roles of Black people throughout their history in the state, from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement.

Above: Photograph of the 2015 installation of the exhibition at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.

Using found objects as well as traditional art materials, these artists created works of great power that speak to the roles of Black people throughout their history in the state, from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement.

Organizer

Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama, and the Centre for Living Arts in Mobile in conjunction with the Souls Grown Deep Foundation and Tinwood, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sponsor

Support for this exhibition was provided by Regions Bank.

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