Collecting Call

September 19, 2019 David C. Driskell Center for the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora | College of Arts and Humanities

Driskell Center exhibit highlights breadth of African American art.

By Sala Levin '10 | Maryland Today

Collecting art may seem like a hobby that belongs only to elite families like the fictional (and mega-rich) Roys on HBO’s “Succession.” But a new exhibit opening tomorrow at the David C. Driskell Center hopes to prove that amassing art isn’t just for family dynasties.

Chosen from the holdings of 15 art collectors, the 64 pieces in “[Un]Common Collections” “show that people can approach collecting in many different ways—there’s not only one way to do it,” said Dorit Yaron, deputy director of the David Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora. She curated the exhibit with Professor Curlee Raven Holton, center director.

Collectors were asked to submit eight pieces for review, presenting those that best represent their collecting approaches, as well as interests in medium, subject matter and style. From figurative to abstract, from religion to the civil rights movement, the works on display span 1869–2018 and show the range of African American artists.