American Evolution sponsors 2 African American exhibits to commemorate the 400th anniversary of slavery in the US at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Two 2019 Commemoration, American Evolution exhibitions, Cosmologies from the Tree of Life: Art from the African American South and Determined: The 400-year Struggle for Black Equality, are opening in June. Timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia in 1619, these exhibitions combined explore the African American experience over the last 400 years.

In partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Cosmologies from the Tree of Life: Art from the African American South, will debut on Saturday, June 8. This special exhibition features recent acquisitions from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation to strengthen the representation of artists from the African American South. Cosmologies, on view in the Evans Court Exhibition Galleries from June 8 to November 17, includes sculptures, paintings, works on paper, and quilts, among other media, addressing some of the most profound and persistent issues in American society.

The aesthetic and cultural origins of the works in the Cosmologies exhibition can be traced back to the era of enslavement of Africans in America through the Jim Crow period. Given the restrictions on both physical freedom and artistic expression, these works of art serve to celebrate not only the persistence, but also the resilience of these African American artists. This exhibition will reflect the nation's historical diversity and complexity. These themes are key issues addressed by Virginia's 2019 Commemoration.