Exhibitions
what if draws inspiration from Elizabeth Alexander’s The Black Interior where she looks to (and hopes for) authentic re-envisioning for Black art, questioning what the inner lives of black artists and people looks like, away from dominant public images, “stereotypes and limited imagination”.
Our personal curiosities lead us to unravel layers of ourselves, our interiority (specifically Black interiority), in ways that help us make sense of our practice, artistry, cultural production, and sometimes life. These curiosities allow us to better understand our nature, our tendencies and how we contend with the world through art, despite societal and racial limitations.
what if is an immersive exhibition that explores the expansiveness of interiority through personal curiosity, as evidenced in Black artists’ visual narratives. This exhibition focuses on the ways the artists remain curious, imaginative, and authentic to self, despite outside perceptions of Black art, highlighting their sources of curiosity through interior monologues that flirt with ideas of time, ritual, tradition, and playful expressions of self and emotion. Through artwork, spaces for convening, and programming, what if invites visitors to be curious and consider how these artists have come to understand themselves and their worlds, away from the stereotyping of Black art, by tending to their curiosities and inner selves.
The exhibition is a thematic expression that is parallel to and reflective of The Current, An Artist Award—an ongoing, annual, and unrestricted award providing financial and institutional support to a Black artist living and working in the Tacoma area.
Organized by Tacoma Art Museum and curated by Victoria Miles.
what if is generously supported by Tacoma Creates, ArtsFund, and our wonderful Tacoma Art Museum Members.
Kristina Batiste,
Compose #5, 2024
Porcelain, iron, and cobalt wash
records (5) 18”d x ¼” h plinth (1) 5’7” x 2”x 16”
Courtesy of the artist
Cristina Martinez
Happy Place, 2024
Oil and oil pastel on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Courtesy of the artist
