Jamaal Sheats, the director of Fisk University Galleries,  first explored the works in the Fisk University archives with co-curator Perrin Lathrop in 2016. At the time,  Lathrop was the assistant curator of African art at the Princeton University Art Museum. The pair had travelled to Nashville to visit the vast collection held at Fisk University. 

“When we pulled them out, I promise you, they were glowing — it was just amazing,” Sheats said. 

As Sheats and Lathrop went through the archival vault of works that would make up the exhibition, they described the experience as incredible. It was one of the impactful steps they took in their curation journey for their exhibition, “African Modernism in America” which landed at the Washington University’s Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on March 10. 

 Over the past few years, the project has grown from one artist to a world built by a multitude of creators. Today, “African Modernism in America” is the first major traveling exhibition that examines the interconnection between African artists with key historical time periods such as the Civil Rights Movement, decolonization, and the Cold War. The exhibition features more than 70 artworks by 50 artists from countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, and Ethiopia. 

Part of the job of being a curator is to pick and selectively showcase certain artists and their work. Lathrop emphasized how difficult of a task it is; she said that it feels like every artist deserves their own book, their own lecture, and their own show. 

“We hope the story here only invites people to gravitate towards what interests them and do more [than] what the exhibition can do,” Lathrop said. 

While curating the exhibition, Lathrop and Sheats focused their organization around established art history eras, such as surrealism, abstract expressionism, and minimalism, which have been present since the 1900s. 

“I would always be looking for certain works to be remaining on the checklist, and I’d be holding my breath, you know?” Sheats said as he explained the feeling of attachment towards certain masterpieces as they made their final cuts. Both Sheats and Lathrop strove to create a show that would represent artists from all corners of the continent. 

While rewarding, the process certainly had not been easy. 

“Those early months of COVID were nerve-racking because we had already sunk years into this project, and it possibly wouldn’t happen,” Lathrop said.

The lost time and access to the archival buildings, and the uncertainties surrounding 2020 were a period of low morale for both Sheats and Lathrop.

“You feel paralyzed,” Sheats said as he noted the clashing between the stagnancy of COVID-19 with the just-rising excitement from the momentum the exhibition had picked up. In addition, Sheats mentioned the difficulties when people transitioned from the project due to COVID-19. Even so, Lathrop and Sheats are able to chuckle about it today. 

Moving forward, Sheats and Lathrop hope that this exhibition will offer more space, inspiration, and scholarship not only at Fisk University, but also at other universities across the globe. 

“It is interesting to think about how this work will continue [Once] the work has been consumed,” Sheats said. 

Sheats highlighted how amazing it was being able to link certain current artists and works back to the exhibition. Ted Jones, for example, was a colleague of Sheats and former Professor of Art at Fisk University for 15 years who taught and influenced his students with a rich history. 

Jones made a promise to Sheats to attend the opening of the exhibition when it was first happening at Fisk University. In addition, artists and students inspired by such works came to tell their stories. With all of these guests at the opening exhibition of “African Modernism in Americ”a at Fisk University, Sheats was amazed at the scope their project had reached. 

“Renewing the idea of this exchange is something at the forefront of this movement,” Sheats said.

The exhibition is still available for students and guests to come and view until Aug. 6, 2023 at the Kemper Art Museum. Walking through the exhibition, guests can see a wide variety of pieces, ranging from paintings to wood carvings to ceramics. 

“I only hope that this project continues to create more space,” Lathrop said.