“Why Black Museums” inaugural event

Art Galleries at Black Studies is excited to announce a multiyear program titled Why Black Museums, which honors and examines Black museums’ contributions to the museum field. This spring we will host our inaugural events, which will highlight several scholars and professionals working within The University of Texas at Austin Black Studies department as well as Black museums across the United States.

On Friday, April 21, Why Black Museums will commence with a day of events dedicated to the theme: “Honoring the Past, Envisioning the Future.” The morning roundtable (10:30am–12pm) features Dr. Ted Gordon, Rachel Winston, and Phillip Townsend, who will converse on the development of the African and African Diaspora Studies Department at The University of Texas at Austin.

The afternoon panel features Dr. Ariana Curtis, Cameron Shaw, Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, and Dr. Cherise Smith. Panelists will discuss their personal and professional connections with Black museums, the development of the institutions they now call home, and the future of community-focused museums. Delphine Sims and Dr. Gaila Sims will moderate and lead a Q&A.  

Following this event, the audience is invited to join the panelists and moderators at a reception in AGBS’s Christian-Green Gallery. We hope artists, scholars, museum professionals, students, and other community members will gather with us to recognize these incredible speakers, celebrate the organizations with which they are affiliated, and look ahead to these pivotal institutions’ future innovations.

Why Black Museums is a collaboration between Dr. Cherise Smith, Executive Director of the Art Galleries at Black Studies, Dr. Gaila Sims, and Delphine Sims. This multi-year initiative was conceived to honor and examine Black museums’ contributions to the museum field, and to celebrate AGBS as a promising addition to the larger community of ethnically specific museums.

In recognition of the importance of accessibility and sustainability, this event will be offered in a hybrid format. If you wish to attend online, please navigate to AGBS’s YouTube Channel, where a livestream of the event will be made available.

Inaugural event: “Honoring the Past, Envisioning the Future”
Friday, April 21, 2023. University of Texas at Austin, WCP 2.120 Meeting Room. RSVP here for in-person and virtual participation.

Panel I: Edmund T. Gordon, Rachel Winston, Phillip Townsend
10:30–12pm
WCP 2.120 Meeting Room

Panel II: Ariana Curtis, Cameron Shaw, Alvia Wardlaw, Cherise Smith
12:45–2:40pm
WCP 2.120 Meeting Room 

Coffee reception
3–4:30pm
Christian-Green Gallery

About the Art Galleries at Black Studies
The University of Texas at Austin’s Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) is a collecting institution whose mission is to acquire, preserve, interpret, exhibit, and otherwise make accessible modern and contemporary art and cultural materials related to the Black experience for the benefit of all audiences. Comprised of two principal galleries—Christian-Green Gallery and Idea Lab—and six project spaces, AGBS’s exhibitions and programs serve communities on and off campus and engage with the larger art worlds. AGBS’s exceptional collection—numbering nearly 1,300 objects—is the core of its identity, and it sustains and catalyzes all we do.

Founded in 2016, The University of Texas at Austin’s Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) is the sole on-campus entity, at The University of Texas at Austin, dedicated to art about the Black experience. As a preeminent cultural asset of Black Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, it is a center for teaching, learning, and scholarship. AGBS serves as a forum for the creative and critical expression of artists, historians, and curators.

The University of Texas at Austin’s Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) is open to all, free of charge, and is committed to fostering feelings of ownership of art and visual culture in diverse audiences.