New York Historical Society

New York, New York, USA, United States of America
Official website: New York Historical Society

Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery was an exhibition that took place at New York Historical Society, June 16, 2006 - January 7, 2007. The exhibition brought together examples of work by artists such as Faith Ringgold, Carrie Mae Weems, Fred Wilson, Whitfield Lovell, Mel Edwards, Lorenzo Pace, Betye Saar, Marc Latamie, and Willie Birch.

From the preface to the exhibition’s catalogue, by Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, and Linda S. Ferber, Vice President and Museum Director, New York Historical Society: “We are proud to present Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery, the largest and most important exhibition organized to date on this timely and significant topic. The project is inspired by the New-York Historical Society’s pair of groundbreaking exhbitions that investigate the history of slavery in New York. The aclaimed Slavery in New York drew record attendance during its recent run; Civil Wars: New York and Slavery 1815 - 1870 promises to be a landmark presentation as well. Legacies brings into the present the issues raised in these two exhibions by demonstrating how a generation of eminent contemporary artists has contemplated the way in which the history of racially-based slavery has shaped our society.”

The exhibition presented a fascinating and compelling range of works, though the artists tended to come from African-American or African Diaporan backgrounds, suggesting that it was such artists alone who were able to make cogent work reflecting on various aspects of slavery, the slave trade and the legacies thereof.

»  Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery

Catalogue relating to an exhibition, 2006