A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

April 13, 2024–September 22, 2024

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration illuminates the enduring impressions of the Great Migration through the eyes and work of twelve contemporary artists.

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Jamea Richmond-Edwards: This Water Runs Deep, 2022; mixed media and collage on canvas with sound; courtesy the artist and Kravets Wehby Gallery. Photography by Mitro Hood, courtesy of the Mississippi Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art.
Robert Pruitt: A Song for Travelers, 2022; charcoal, conté, and pastel on paper, mounted onto four aluminum panels; courtesy of the artist and Koplin Del Rio Gallery. Image courtesy of Adam Reich.
Mark Bradford: 500, 2022; mixed media on panel; sixty panels, each 22 x 28 in.; courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. TGM9. Photography by Mitro Hood, courtesy of the Mississippi Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art.
Theaster Gates Jr.: The Double Wide, 2022; spruce framing, armory flooring, metal roofing exterior, Mississippi reliquary, tar, pickled goods, bronze sculpture, two-channel video (color, sound); 2:02 min. (channel one) and 6:18 min. (channel two); dimensions variable; courtesy the artist. TGM8. Photography by Mitro Hood; courtesy of the Mississippi Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art.
Allison Janae Hamilton: A House Called Florida, 2022; three-channel film installation (color, sound); 34:46 min; courtesy the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, and Aspen. Photo: Mitro Hood, courtesy of the Mississippi Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art.
Akea Brionne: School Children (left), Porch Sittin’ (right) from the series An Ode To (You)’all, 2022; series of six; jacquard tapestry, poly-fil, rhinestones; dimensions variable; courtesy the artist. TGM4. Photo: Mitro Hood, courtesy of the Mississippi Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art.

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Saturday, April 13, 11 AM–7 PM
Free Community Day: A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

Celebrate the opening of A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration with free gallery admission to the public on Saturday, April 13, from 11 AM to 7 PM.

BAMPFA
Saturday, April 13, 2 PM
Curator’s Tour: Anthony Graham on A Movement in Every Direction

Senior Curator Anthony Graham, who organized BAMPFA’s presentation of the exhibition, discusses the themes of A Movement in Every Direction and offers insights and observations about selected artworks.

BAMPFA
Thursday, April 11–Friday, April 12, 11 AM–7 PM
Preview Day: A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

Member-exclusive preview day of A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

BAMPFA

For BAMPFA members and UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff.

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

April 13, 2024–September 22, 2024

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration illuminates the enduring impressions of the Great Migration through the eyes and work of twelve contemporary artists. Between 1915 and 1970, in the wake of racial violence and pervasive inequalities, nearly half of the country’s African American population left their homes in the rural South. Many migrated to cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, while others relocated within the South. Between 1940 and 1970, the Bay Area’s own Black American population increased by nearly 300,000. The Great Migration transformed the economic, cultural, social, political, and ecological makeup of the United States.

This extensive dispersal of people across the country altered nearly every aspect of Black life and culture. By exploring very personal and at times difficult histories, the artists consider how reverberations from the Great Migration continue to affect their lives and the lives of many Black Americans. A Movement in Every Direction reveals lesser-known stories of this unprecedented phenomenon. It honors the paths, decisions, and sacrifices of ancestors; their pursuit of their hopes and dreams; and the brighter tomorrows they imagined for themselves and their loved ones.

This exhibition features newly commissioned works across media by twelve artists, including Akea Brionne, Mark Bradford, Zoë Charlton, Larry W. Cook, Torkwase Dyson, Theaster Gates Jr., Allison Janae Hamilton, Leslie Hewitt, Steffani Jemison, Robert Pruitt, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, and Carrie Mae Weems.

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Download the exhibition brochure (PDF)

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration is co-organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art. The exhibition is co-curated by Ryan N. Dennis, former Chief Curator and Artistic Director of the Center for Art and Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art, and Jessica Bell Brown, Curator and Department Head of Contemporary Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The presentation at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is organized by Anthony Graham, Senior Curator, with Matthew Villar Miranda, Curatorial Associate.

Support is provided by the Ford Foundation, Teiger Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional support for the presentation at BAMPFA is provided by the Constance Chang Fund.

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

April 13, 2024–September 22, 2024

Upcoming Events

Past Events