Black History Is Beautiful

BLACK HISTORY IS BEAUTIFUL IS A 7 PIECE BLACK HISTORY EXHIBIT CREATED FOR THE NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY HERMITAGE BRANCH IN FEBRUARY 2018. IT FEATURED PORTRAITS OF AUTHORS, MUSICIANS, AND ARTISTS WHOSE WORK HAS INSPIRED MY LIFE/ART. MY INTENTION WAS TO BRING A NEW LOOK TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY BY CHANGING THE COLORS USED TO PORTRAY OUR HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM BLACK AND WHITE OR NEUTRAL COLORS TO MORE VIVID AND BRIGHT COLORS. I ALSO WANTED TO USE DIFFERENT HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM THE USUAL ONES WE SEE. I PAINTED HISTORICAL FIGURES WHO IMPACTED MY LIFE IN SOME WAY. THE PURPOSE WAS TO DRAW ATTENTION AND FORCE THE IMAGES TO BE SEEN IN A NEW LIGHT WITH THE HOPES OF CHANGING THE PERSPECTIVE OF VIEWERS WHO MAY OTHERWISE THINK THAT BLACK HISTORICAL FIGURES ARE SO FAR REMOVED FROM WHAT IS RELEVANT TODAY, THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RELATE TO THE PEOPLE OR THEIR WORK. BY CREATING MY OWN NARRATIVE OF WHAT BLACK HISTORY LOOKS LIKE TO ME. I WANT TO SHOW THE VIEWER HOW BLACK HISTORY CAN BE RELEVANT TODAY AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO LOOK FURTHER INTO THE WORK OF THESE MAGNIFICENT PEOPLE.