Press Release: Telling Our Story: Selections from the Permanent Collection
February 11, 2022
David C. Driskell Center Presents Exhibition of Works from the Permanent Collection
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Tamara Schlossenberg
Art Registrar
301-314-2615
driskellcenter@umd.edu
DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER TO PRESENT COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS SHOW TO KICK OFF TWO YEAR PROGRAMING AIMED AT TELLING THE STORY OF THE CENTER
COLLEGE PARK, MD. – The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park, is proud to present its spring 2022 exhibition, Telling Our Story: Works from the Permanent Collection. The exhibition is on view at the Driskell Center from February 7 through May 10, 2022 and is curated by Tamara Schlossenberg, Collections Manager, assisted by Professor Curlee R. Holton, Director, both of the David C. Driskell Center.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION: Telling Our Story: Works from the Permanent Collection is the first in a series of shows that aim to highlight the history and unique contributions made by the David C. Driskell Center to the American art canon. The show incorporates both selections from the previous show, American Landscapes, as well as additional works from the Permanent Collection, some that have never been publicly displayed since being acquired by the Driskell Center. In selecting works, we started by selecting important works and artists that we had previously not had opportunities to display and that had interesting stories to tell. At the Driskell Center, we believe an art object is much more than an aesthetic object of beauty; it can also be an important document that records our experiences, history and perceptions of the world around us. We also looked at artists and works that have a special relationship to the Center and to the American art canon in order to create a selection of art that highlights the wide diversity of art that can be found within the Driskell Center's art collection. All of the works in the gallery are from the David C. Driskell Center and the University of Maryland Art Gallery Permanent Collections. Artists featured in this exhibition include Benny Andrews, Edward Mitchell Bannister, Jamaal Barber, Elizabeth Catlett, Nona Faustine, Barkley L. Hendricks, Felrath Hines, Robin Holder, Richard Mayhew, Michael B. Platt, Charles Ethan Porter, Alison Saar, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, Kara Elizabeth Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and Sol Wilson, among many others.
Additionally, on long-term exhibition are 30 landscape works by Professor Driskell, known for his love and depiction of pine trees, gardens, and landscapes.
The David C. Driskell Center Gallery is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and selected Saturdays [Feb. 19th, Apr. 23th, and Apr. 30th] 11AM-4PM.
ABOUT THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER
The David C. Driskell Center honors the legacy of David C. Driskell—a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Art, Artist, Art Historian, Collector, Curator, and Philanthropist—by preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture. The Driskell Center is committed to preserving, documenting, and presenting African American art, as well as replenishing and expanding the field of African American art. All programs at the David C. Driskell Center are free and open to the public. The facility is wheelchair accessible. For further information regarding exhibitions and activities at the Driskell Center, please call 301.314.2615 or visit www.driskellcenter.umd.edu. The Driskell Center’s programming is supported in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and private donors. The exhibition and its programing will be presented in person following regulations from the state, county, and University of Maryland, and may change at any time.
FUTURE EXHIBITIONS:
Telling Our Story: Seeing Art, Seeing Community (Fall 2022)
A community (centered show) where invited guest selectors will select works for the exhibition. Guest selectors will be invited to visit the David C. Driskell Center’s art and archive collections to see the works first hand and to do further research into them. They will then be asked to write a letter to the artist(s) as to why they like the works they selected expressing any historical, personal, or societal significance that interested them in the work and led them to select it.
David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration and Friendship (2022-2024)
A traveling exhibition curated in collaboration with Wilkes University and the University of California, Riverside. The exhibition will highlight the artistic legacy of David C. Driskell and the importance of his relationships with fellow artist friends. The traveling exhibition will make its debut at Wilkes University in November 2022, before moving on to UC Riverside, another venue (TBD) and then finally being shown at the David C. Driskell Center in Fall 2023.
Conversations and (in) Context: Selections from our Archive (Spring 2023)
An archive show highlighting selections from the David C. Driskell Papers, the Benjamin Papers, and the Faith Ringgold Study Room. Guest researchers will view the archive and make selections that create and engage in a historical dialog surrounding our present-day climate. The process of research and curation for the show will be filmed and shown alongside the archival selections.