Full Description
When Rutgers professor Amber N. Wiley began teaching her African American Art class in 2018, she and her students made a shocking discovery. While the university's Zimmerli Art Museum had over seventy thousand artworks in its collection, only one of the pieces on display was by a Black American woman. The students, who came from a variety of majors and reflected the ethnic diversity of New Jersey itself, agreed something needed to be done to correct this imbalance. And so begins the story of the groundbreaking exhibition: Collective Yearning.
In this book, Wiley tells the story of how she and her student curators took a deep dive into the Zimmerli's holdings to recover, catalog, and display its art by Black women. Along the way, contributors discuss the ethics of curation, the history of African American expressive traditions, and the institutional biases that erase or marginalize Black female perspectives. Richly illustrated with pieces from the exhibition, including little-seen work by such visionaries as Faith Ringgold, Renée Stout, and Kara Walker, Collective Yearning makes a powerful statement on the importance of showcasing Black women artists.
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Part I
Chapter 1: Teaching to Transgress
Chapter 2: Echoes: Speaking from the Threshold
Chapter 3: "Pass the Mic:" A Conversation with Student Curators
Part II
Chapter 4: Self-Making and Identity
Chapter 5: The Brodsky Center and Rutgers Print Collaborative
Chapter 6: Process and Materiality
Chapter 7: The Art of Storytelling
Chapter 8: Alchemy and Spirituality
Conclusion: Seeing Ourselves
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Artist Biographies
Appendix: Art Analysis Worksheet
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
