There Is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art

Thomas
© 2022 Mickalene Thomas / Artists  Rights Society (ARS), New York

August 30 through December 18, 2022 | Special Exhibition Galleries


"In the spirit of Elizabeth Catlett’s print There is a Woman in Every Color, this exhibition explores the legacy of Black women in the visual arts. Bringing together works made between the late eighteenth- and twenty-first centuries, the exhibition examines their representation in works of art that picture Black women or that were produced by Black women. In doing so, the exhibition offers nuanced and multifaceted perspectives on the experiences of Black women primarily in the United States. 

There Is a Woman in Every Color also places artworks by Black women in conversation with one another, showcasing the diverse approaches these women take to exploring identity, personhood, artistic techniques, and influences. Throughout, the exhibition employs the term “Black” not to describe a monolith, but to convey the breadth of identities with ties to the African diaspora. 

Works by Black women artists or those featuring representations of Black women make up less than one percent of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s collection, a gap all too common in museums around the country. While this exhibition is not a comprehensive exploration of Black women’s history and art, it challenges histories of marginalization, makes their presence visible, and proposes new directions for how museums collect and represent artists of color and the lived experiences of their communities."

Additional information provided by the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
https://courses.bowdoin.edu/there-is-a-woman-in-every-color-2021/

art bridges logo

There is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art is organized by the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. Generous support for this project provided by Art Bridges. 

sponsors logos for the Minnesota State Arts Boards and Land and Legacy Amendment

Additional support by the Charlie Matsch Fund, Friends of the Tweed Museum of Art, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and members of Duluth's communities.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.