See Some Art // The Great Migration Exhibition at MMA

Last weekend I traveled down to Jackson, MS for the opening weekend of “A Movement in Every Direction; Legacies of the Great Migration,” a new exhibition that opened at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

An immersive exhibition, it features the works of 12 contemporary black artists who trace their legacies through the Great Migration, using painting, sculpture, film and sound to explore how it affected them both personally and nationally. The newly commissioned works were created by artists including Mark Bradford, Akea Brionne, Zoë Charlton, Larry W. Cook, Torkwase Dyson, Theaster Gates, Allison Janae Hamilton, Leslie Hewitt, Steffani Jemison, Robert Pruitt, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, and Carrie Mae Weems.

Robert Pruitt, A Song for Travelers, 2022 

Theaster Gates Jr., The Double Wide, 2022

Mark Bradford, 500, 2022

Carrie Mae Weems, The North Star, 2022

If you’re unfamiliar with The Great Migration, it was the movement of 6 million African Americans from rural areas of the South to urban areas in the North between 1916 and 1970. While so many left what they had behind and suffered losses economically, the migration was also responsible for so many shifts socially, politically, musically and culturally for Black people (for example, the Harlem Renaissance was birthed from this).

The moving exhibition explores themes around perseverance, self-determination and self-reliance, along with the impacts this historical phenomenon continues to have today.

Jamea Richmond-Edwards, This Water Runs Deep, 2022

This was my favorite piece from the show.

Akea Brionne, An Ode to (You)’all, 2022

Zoë Charlton, Permanent Change of Station, 2022

Allison Janae Hamilton, still from “A House Called Florida”, 2022

Larry W. Cook, Let My Testimony Sit Next To Yours, 2002

The exhibition is first on display at MMA through September 11, 2002 before moving on to the Baltimore Museum of Art and then other stops across the nation. Jackson, MS is only a 3 hour drive from Memphis, so this is perfect for a day trip or quick weekend getaway.

I took my niece Kyla along with me  for this trip; she’s an artist (she sketches and has made some multi-media collage pieces), so I love being able to introduce her to different styles of art to not only stretch her mind around history, but to also stretch her creativity. We always chat about the art that we see and I love learning more about the way her brain works and how she interprets art from a teen perspective.

MMA is the only museum in the South that will be featuring this exhibition and it’s definitely not one to miss. To learn more, visit: www.msmuseumart.org/the-great-migration. For Ticket info click here.

Mississippi Museum of Art
380 S Lamar St
Jackson, MS 39201