TACOMA, Wash. – Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is pleased to present the widely acclaimed exhibition The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection, celebrating the achievements and contributions of Black Americans from 1595 to present times. The exhibition at TAM, which will include some works from the Kinsey Collection that have not been shown before, opened July 31 and continues through November 28.
Considered one of the most comprehensive surveys of African American history and culture outside the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibition will feature more than 150 of the shared treasures amassed by Bernard and Shirley Kinsey during their five decades of marriage. The collection includes masterful paintings and sculptures, photographs, rare books, letters, manuscripts, and more.
The exhibition has been cited in three national awards, including the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Garnering national media attention and experienced by more than 15 million people, the groundbreaking exhibition has toured 30 cities in the U.S. and internationally, including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, EPCOT Walt Disney World, the University of Hong Kong Museum and Gallery, and the California African American Museum, to name a few.
Representing the intersection between art and history, the exhibition covers the lives, accomplishments, and artistry of African Americans from the 16th century through the years of slavery and emancipation to the civil rights movement and today. Important objects include bills of sale, advertisements, letters, and legal papers documenting the slave trade; hand-colored tintypes from the Civil War era; art and literature from the Harlem Renaissance; and items spotlighting key moments in the civil rights movement, including the Woolworth store boycotts and the 1963 March on Washington. A history of African Americans in art is charted through works by numerous celebrated artists, including Grafton Tyler Brown, Bisa Butler, Elizabeth Catlett, Robert S. Duncanson, Sam Gilliam, Augusta Savage, Alma Thomas, Charles White, and many more.
Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Floridians by birth and graduates of Florida A&M University, began collecting to remember their travels. Soon their collection became a repository for African American intellectual, historical, and artistic works. The Kinseys believe their collection helps give a well-rounded look at the African American experience and the integral roles African Americans played in building this country, providing new perspectives on chapters of the nation’s history which have been ignored. Bernard and Shirley’s son, Khalil Kinsey, serves as General Manager and Chief Curator for the collection and exhibitions.
“The Kinsey Collection strives to give our ancestors a voice, a name, and a personality, enabling the viewer to understand the challenges, obstacles, triumphs, accomplishments, and extraordinary sacrifice of African Americans in building this country,” said Bernard Kinsey. Khalil adds, “This is an American story, and most people only know a fraction of it.”
While this exhibition has been shown in numerous locations across the United States, this will be the first time the exhibition has been presented in the Pacific Northwest. According to Bernard Kinsey, “The collection at TAM is an opportunity for people in the Pacific Northwest and surrounding areas to see historical artifacts and artworks that are extremely rare and vitally important to the story of America.”
David F. Setford, TAM’s Executive Director, said, “When I traveled to Dallas in September 2019 to see this exhibition and meet the Kinseys, I was overwhelmed. I was amazed by the power of the documents and works of art on display, by their ability to tell an untold story, and by the commitment of the Kinseys to share that story. I resolved that we needed to share this story at TAM.”
The exhibition’s presentation at TAM and related community programming is being developed in collaboration with an exhibition advisory committee comprised of 18 Black leaders, artists, educators, and activists from the greater Tacoma area. Special tours, performances, talks, educator workshops, school tours, youth programs, and more will be hosted at TAM and virtually during the exhibition.
TAM and the Kinsey family are also excited to collaborate with, highlight, and celebrate Black- owned small businesses in Tacoma. The TAM Cafe is partnering with Black-owned restaurants to host rotating pop-ups with menu offerings from local favorites, including Uncle Thurms Soul Food, Hamhock Jones, Lizzie Lou’s, Southern Kitchen, Campfire Coffee, Only Oatmeal Cookie Creations, and more. The TAM Store will also share dedicated space to feature an exclusive exhibition-inspired retail experience that includes limited-edition merchandise and a capsule collection by Tacoma-based eTc clothing company.
Additionally, a richly illustrated book with a foreword by Douglas A. Blackmon, the Pulitzer Prize- winning author of Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, accompanies the exhibition and will be available for sale in the TAM Store.
Visit the website of the Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) and see its dedicated page for The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection exhibit.