{"id":5371,"date":"2021-08-26T14:16:11","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T19:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2022-07-20T09:27:47","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T14:27:47","slug":"milwaukee-art-museum-to-unveil-large-scale-mural-installation-by-artist-derrick-adams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/2021\/08\/milwaukee-art-museum-to-unveil-large-scale-mural-installation-by-artist-derrick-adams\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Art Museum to Unveil Large-Scale Mural Installation by Artist Derrick Adams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The monumental work inspired by the legacy of <\/em>The Negro Motorist Green Book will be installed in the Museum\u2019s East End overlooking Lake Michigan. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milwaukee, Wis. \u2013 August 26, 2021  \u2013<\/strong> A newly commissioned large-scale wall mural and sculptural installation will be unveiled October 29<\/strong> at the Milwaukee Art Museum<\/strong>. Created by Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams<\/strong>, Our Time Together<\/em><\/strong> will be a 93-foot work that reframes historical Black narratives.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Our Time Together<\/em>, I highlight Milwaukee by representing commercial and social spaces known within the Black community,\u201d said Derrick Adams<\/strong>. \u201cThese dwellings, and those who occupy them, are essential to the cultural, political and creative growth of American society, which is then spread out to a global audience. The installation reflects my respect and admiration for the perseverance of Black Americans in their pursuit of happiness and speaks to transformation, belonging and normalcy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by Victor Hugo Green\u2019s The Negro Motorist Green Book<\/em>, a traveler\u2019s guide for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era, Adams celebrates the rituals of everyday Black life and leisure. The monumental wall mural includes references to important sites of Black culture in Milwaukee including Gee\u2019s Clippers, Coffee Makes You Black and the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, combined with vernacular photographs from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and dynamic figures that Adams created. By referring to sites of intergenerational congregation, ordinary moments and pop culture, the imagery references a richer and more nuanced understanding of Black life in America, beyond historical trauma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough his monumental wall mural and sculptural installation, Adams underlines the importance of commemorating\u2014and archiving\u2014ordinary daily activities as central to shaping community and collective identity,\u201d said Lisa Sutcliffe, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re honored to share and support this site-specific commission, which celebrates Black-owned businesses and culture, and asks important questions about the role of media and visual imagery in the construction of identity and cultural value.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Book<\/em> was revolutionary in its day as a travel guide that listed Black-owned businesses, restaurants and lodgings that were safe for Black travelers in the 1930s through the 1960s, during the height of the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adams visited Milwaukee in 2018 and 2019 to explore sites of importance in the Black community, including the Wisconsin Black Historical Society. He also met with Black artists and business owners, researched places listed in the Green Book<\/em>, and viewed an archive of civil rights era photographs from local newspapers. Adams has stressed the importance of archives to Milwaukee, where none of the historic Green Book<\/em> sites still exist. For Adams, pointing to the significance of these archives is a vital form of honoring Black innovation, Black stories and resilience in the face of adversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On view through 2024, Our Time Together<\/em> is the first in the Museum\u2019s On Site<\/em> series to activate the East End. The exhibition series, which began in 2001, invites contemporary artists to make new works that respond to a specific location within the Museum. Artists previously featured in the series include Chakaia Booker, Liam Gillick and Andrea Zittel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn Site: Derrick Adams <\/em>allows the Museum to take a different approach in programming. We have three years to explore the amazing themes of this commission: to gather together, archive Black everyday experiences and histories, and honor Black-owned businesses and service industries,\u201d said Kantara Souffrant, Curator of Community Dialogue, Milwaukee Art Museum<\/strong>. \u201cI want to use this time to co-build with community partners, organizations, and Black artists, to create events and opportunities together<\/em> that help us strengthen Milwaukee\u2019s arts ecosystem and promote a more unified community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the 2021 Visionaries: Donna and Donald Baumgartner, Murph Burke, Joel and Caran Quadracci, and Sue and Bud Selig. The Visionaries support the Museum through annual sponsorship of three critical pillars within the Strategic Direction: Art Relevant to the Community, Robust Community Programming and Expansive Hospitality.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critical leadership support for Our Time Together <\/em>has been provided by the Presenting Sponsors: Bader Philanthropies, with support of community engagement and installation activities, and the Milwaukee Art Museum\u2019s Contemporary Art Society, with support for the commission and acquisition of the work. Generous Supporting Sponsorship is provided by the Herzfeld Foundation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newly commissioned large-scale wall mural and sculptural installation will be unveiled\u00a0October 29\u00a0at the\u00a0Milwaukee Art Museum. Created by Brooklyn-based artist\u00a0Derrick Adams,\u00a0Our Time Together\u00a0will be\u00a0a\u00a093-foot work that\u00a0reframes historical Black narratives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1501,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exhibition","category-featured-press-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5371"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5548,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions\/5548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}