Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier arts and living editor
February is Black History Month, and this time serves as an opportunity to honor and celebrate the importance of African American history and culture. While it is important that this is done year-round, the Berry College Moon Gallery has had the opportunity to host an exhibit titled “Cultivating Black Futures” from Feb. 5– 29. The show is sponsored by One Community United, an organization in Rome that works to promote racial equality. This gallery has been curated by artists Amanda Banks and Xaivier Ringer, and features work by several other artists.
Amanda Banks has worked to curate the exhibit, and they have work shown in the gallery. This has been their third year hosting the exhibition. In previous years, the show was held in downtown Rome at the Rome Area History Museum and the Kingfisher Gallery. According to Banks, this year’s gallery has a lot of different art mediums, including textiles, animation, collage work and digital art.
“In this show specifically, the theme is ‘Cultivating Black Futures,’” Banks said. “A lot of the work is talking mainly about how we see ourselves in the future, as Black people of the diaspora.”
The gallery features the work of artists from Rome, Ga, as well as different regions of the United States and some international artists. Banks said that because of the diversity of artists and mediums, the artwork is able to demonstrate a variety of perspectives and viewpoints. According to Banks, the exhibit will serve as an opportunity for the community to experience different forms of art.
“Rome doesn’t have a lot of arts programming, or access to arts in general,” Banks said. “I think it is really important to make sure that we are trying to facilitate access to community members here, so that they can see something that they might not have seen before or consider that art might be something different than what first comes to mind.”
Xaivier Ringer is a curator and has several art pieces on display. Ringer said that one of the biggest challenges regarding the show has been to get more people to attend and engage with the art. The various pieces are an opportunity for visitors to learn more about the stories and lives of others, as well as to contemplate their own relationship with the community.
“I hope they see a wonderful collection of Black artists who are from Georgia and beyond, and that they see how they are each responding to cultivating Black futures,” Ringer said. “I hope they see the essence to consider our roots, and if our wellbeing is secure now and in the future. They can contemplate the part that they take in it, as well as their responsibility to improve the community, for all humanity, and specifically Black people.”
The “Cultivating Black Futures” exhibit was curated by artists Amanda Banks and Xaivier Ringer.
Junior Blake Howard works as a gallery assistant in the Moon building, and he helped with the set-up process for “Cultivating Black Futures.” Howard said that preparation for this exhibit involved removing art from the previous show and preparing the space. The gallery needed to be cleaned, and some areas needed to be re-painted. The preparation process for this exhibit was different from previous exhibits, as the art pieces are typically selected by Moon Gallery director, Professor Brad Adams. The pieces for this show were all curated by Banks and Ringer, and they set the exhibition up themselves. Howard had the opportunity to work with them by assisting with the set-up process.
“I was there all of the time that they were in the gallery,” Howard said. “It was a lot of working with them, as opposed to some artists who will drop their stuff off. This was a lot more personal.”
This gallery is a unique opportunity for members of the Berry and Rome communities to experience a diverse range of artwork created by people from different backgrounds. In addition to the gallery, Banks and Ringer hosted an artist’s talk on February 21st in the Intercultural Center. This provided guests with the chance to learn more about the work in the gallery.
“I just love the artists that we have,” Ringer said. “It is important to keep supporting things like this, so it is accessible to people in Rome.”