Current Exhibits

The Journey Gallery
March 8, 2008 thru March 11, 2011

What does it mean to be African American in the Pacific Northwest? It is a beautiful range of colors and hues; a diversity of experiences and locations; a variety of countries of origin, both known and unknown; an assortment of religions; a staggering array of occupations; a multitude of co-workers, neighbors, friends and families; an ever -evolving community that continues to shape and reshape the human experience. The Journey Gallery will take visitors on a fascinating journey through space and time, introducing the history, culture, and art of the region’s African American Community. Using a mix of photos, artifacts and compelling narratives, the Journey Gallery invites you to explore this continually changing story, for it is yours, it is mine, it is ours.

Curated by Barbara Earl Thomas, Deputy Director/Curator. Special thanks to Formations, Inc., Exhibit Design/Fabrication; Jackie Lawson, Black Heritage Society of Washington State, Inc.; Marsha Rooney, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture; Pat Thomas, Black Historical Society of Kitsap County; Tim Detweiler, Executive Director of the James W. Washington, Jr. and Janie Rogella Washington Foundation.

The Northwest Gallery
March 8, 2008 thru February 18, 2009

Creating a World, Making a Life: Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington, Jr.

The opening exhibit in the Northwest Gallery will feature the work and lives of two artists who profoundly reshaped our region’s cultural landscape, Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington Jr. This exhibition is as personal as any story that attempts to relate the meaning of a life to a community. The artwork and objects here reveal the interests and passions of two artists who were central in helping us understand the power of creativity. They lived among us not as mythic characters but as neighbors and friends and they left human tracks.

Migrating to Bremerton, Washington from rural Mississippi in 1940, Washington’s paintings and sculptures convey security and freedom, two qualities difficult to attain, particularly for a Black person who grew up and came of age in the Jim Crow South. Washington transformed the barriers of color into opportunities for inspiration as seen in his passionately creative paintings and sculptures. Drawing inspiration from his contemporaries, including George Tsutakawa, Mark Tobey, Guy Anderson, and others. Washington used symbols drawn from the natural world around him to inform his sculptures, a creative approach that was a hallmark of the Northwest School. At the same time, Washington exposed this artistic collective to his enduring commitment to social justice, deeply spiritual nature and belief in the universality of art and all life.

Jacob Lawrence’s decision to leave New York was spurred by an offer of tenure from the University of Washington’s Art Department in 1971. This overture came at time when the opportunity and stability offered by tenure were generally withheld from African American professors. In a show of appreciation, Lawrence introduced the Pacific Northwest to his unique narrative storytelling style of painting. It was a style honed under the informal tutelage of Claude McKay, Charles Alston and Augusta Savage, and which aptly captures the story of movement, struggle and survival central to the African American experience. Throughout his life, Jacob Lawrence committed himself to representing both the harsh realities and the successes of African Americans. He constantly altered his expressive compositions in response to changing subjects and emotional situations.

Curated by Barbara Earl Thomas, Deputy Director/Curator. Special thanks to Minnie Collins, Barbara Johns and Rachel Lodge; Tim Detweiler, Executive Director of the James W. Washington, Jr. and Janie Rogella Washington Foundation; Cath Carine and Susan Noyes Platt; and The Jacob and Gwen Knight Lawrence Foundation.

Future Exhibits

The Northwest Gallery
November 1, 2009 thru October 25, 2010

East by Northwest

An exciting exhibit exploring the story of recent East African immigrants to the Pacific Northwest. One half of the gallery space will delve into the places East Africans have chosen to settle in this region, the jobs they hold, the institutions they have created, the challenges they face and the lives they lead. The other half of the gallery space will explore the historic African American community here, including how they view themselves and their reaction to, and feelings about, the recent influx of East Africans to the Pacific Northwest. What differences exist, what commonalities do the communities share and how is this changing what it means to be African American in the Pacific Northwest?