Genesee News

City of Saginaw issued the following announcement on Jan 31.

“For this exhibit, 'The Black Hand Side', I wanted to highlight not just my collection, but partner with other Black artists as well. As I secured the agreement with the art museum for the exhibit, Nyesha was the first person I contacted and asked if she would be willing to help co-produce the show. A few people donated items within the collection, so when we look at all the creators, artists and collectors, there's a total eight of us who are Black residents in Saginaw coming together to showcase art in this space.

When I recently posted on Facebook that I'm a curator of artifacts, art, people and experiences, that's really what my work has been about. For me, this is the prototype for the type of museum experience that I want to have. I like when there are a lot of different people who have the opportunity to exhibit their items, their art or their wares. But it’s also about the importance of these types of installations, that take advantage of height and space, where people can even come into my collection or Nyesha with the quilts. I think the display and the beautiful installation is just breathtaking.

This exhibit is interactive—it’s more than just a spectator sport. And even in the best spectator sports, people are drinking their beverages, they're eating popcorn and someone's selling peanuts, so it's still an opportunity to interact and experience something together. 

But still, to this day, I get nervous in museums, because I'm like, ‘Okay, am I supposed to be quiet? Can I ask questions?’ But that’s not this space. This is a space where we want people to get close as well as back away. So, like the space where we have the portrait wall, you actually have to get very close to see some of the images. Then you look at James Baldwin and you have to step away to see the greater perspective. 

I think that's also how people view life. We can take a very deep look at things but then sometimes, we have to step back and get a greater perspective. We really tried to merge those two things here. You'll go through the space you know, we tried to put in different details and touches. 

With the quilts, if you look closely, you'll see almost the transatlantic slave trade take shape. One quilt shaped almost the entire continent of Africa, and you’ll look on the wall and see the red, white and blues in another quilt. 

I think everyone tried to be very intentional. Some people even created new works for the show. We told the artists that they didn’t have to create anything new for the exhibition, that they could bring previous work, but folks wanted to create new works specifically for this event and we're just honored to be able to show those new works here. Saginaw gets to see all this art for the first time, here.

It's important to be able to come into space like this to learn about history or see your history reflected there. I think this show brings together a collection of art, advertisements, and other imagery to talk about and celebrate Black history. But also, you get to see the creative side of people and artists exploring with other artists. 

I also think it's important because this is the Saginaw Art Museum, and to be able to do something in your own community and your own backyard is meaningful. It's meaningful to be able to do this work and be recognized at home. For the eight of us to be able to come together, in our own backyard, to do things that we love to do, is awesome.

And I think with this group of artists, a family has been created here in terms of thinking about the importance of art and about the importance of Black contributions to art. I’m interested in how we can continue the legacy of Saginaw’s Black arts movement—how do we become a part of that legacy? 

I think that is important, and what I hope that this will inspire conversation around the question, ‘What's been Saginaw’s Black art history and how do we document those legacies?’ We know that there are people from Saginaw right now on stage acting on Broadway. We think about Stevie Wonder and the Goodridge brothers and all the different Black people who have contributed to the arts in so many different ways. How do we not only maintain and hold that legacy, but how do we extend it? How do we facilitate it further? I'm hoping that this helps to do that.

My ultimate goal is to develop a museum in Saginaw to showcase Black history and art. Black history and culture is not only an important part of American history, but Saginaw’s history as well, making this city the perfect place to do it.”

- Kevin Jones 

"The Black Hand Side" opens February 2nd at the Saginaw Art Museum alongside two other exhibits, "From Africa to Eternity" and "Advocacy through Design". Head over to the museum page or website for more information!

Original source can be found here.