We Dream A World, African American Landscape Painters of Mid-Century Florida, The Highwaymen, will be on view at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ (Selby Gardens) Downtown Sarasota campus July 10 to September 26, 2021.
We Dream a World explores the depth of art and business enterprise created by a unique set of landscape artists. Guest Curator Radiah Harper will take visitors through the experience of African Americans who, living in a hostile climate of racial injustice, were able to both learn their artistic craft through formal and informal education, and successfully break away from traditional field labor jobs to monetize their work. Visitors will also discover the little-known account of Lincoln Park Academy’s art teacher, Ms. Zanobia Jefferson, and how she recognized and nurtured the natural talent of young African American students.
In all, more than two dozen African American artists embraced a style of bright bold colors focused on natural landscapes, preserving images of old Florida for future generations. Their painting technique is distinct and while shunned from the traditional mainstream art market due to the practice of segregation, the artists’ ingenuity to sell directly to customers quickly resulted in a proliferation of their art in waiting rooms, lobbies, and homes throughout the east coast of Florida.
The exhibition will feature a selection of paintings from a variety of lenders, including The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Asselstine Collection, Roger Lightle and Doretha Hair Truesdell, in Selby Gardens’ Museum of Botany & the Arts. We Dream A World, African American Landscape Painters of Mid-Century Florida, The Highwaymen is presented in collaboration with the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.
Guest Curator Radiah Harper will present a free virtual lecture to accompany the exhibition on Wednesday, July 14, Noon to 1 p.m. To register, visit selby.org. Radiah Harper has extensive practice developing transformational experiences at the intersection of visual art, critical thinking, and social change. In her career she has served as Executive Director and Curator, Museum for African American Art, Tampa, Florida; Vice Director for Education and Program Development, Brooklyn Museum, NY; Assistant Professor, Teachers College of Columbia University; and Author. Radiah’s mission is to create space with and for BIPOC, to help shed light and move us forward.
The exhibition is included with regular admission to Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus and is free to members of Selby Gardens and the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.
We Dream A World, African American Landscape Painters of Mid-Century Florida, The Highwaymen is sponsored by Isabel Becker.