The
Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries displays
one of the nation’s largest collections of fine art
by African-Americans. Established during segregation as a
place where black artists could show their work, the permanent
collection now includes pieces by Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence,
Hale Woodruff and Elizabeth Catlett, as well as emerging
artists.
The Spelman College
Museum of Fine Art emphasizes works by and about women of the African Diaspora.
The museum is in the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic
Center, built in honor of the wife of TV star and comedian
Bill Cosby.
Also in the West End neighborhood is the Hammonds
House Galleries and Resource Center of African American Art,
Georgia’s only museum devoted solely
to fine art by African-Americans. Once home to arts patron
O.T. Hammonds, the Victorian residence features a 350-work
permanent collection, including works by Bearden and Bailey,
as well as a research center. It also hosts special exhibits,
lectures, the popular Backyard Symposia series and summertime
jazz concerts.
In 2005, the High Museum of Art doubled its size with the opening of a new building designed
by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano. The museum also hired
Michael D. Harris, one of the nation’s first consulting
curators of African-American art. The permanent collection
of more than 11,000 works is particularly strong in 19th century
and 20th century art, including pieces by Woodruff, Bearden,
Lawrence, Beauford Delaney and David Driskell.
Emory University’s Michael
C. Carlos Museum features more than 18,000 objects spanning nearly 9,000 years,
including the Southeast’s largest collection of ancient
Egyptian art, the region’s finest ancient Greek and
Roman art display, and art from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia
and the Americas.
From June 16-Oct. 14, it hosts “Cradle of Christianity:
Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land,” featuring
the first U.S. display of some of the most significant Biblical
artifacts ever found, including one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Wertz
| Contemporary Gallery (formerly
Kubatana) in the Castleberry Hill district displays works
by influential African and American artists.
To see and buy
works by up-and-coming local black artists, including artist-in-residence
Kojo Griffin, visit Studioplex on Auburn
Avenue, a former cotton compress warehouse converted into Soho-style
loft space. |
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