In honor of both Black History Month and Women’s History Month, Brooklyn Art Haus is gearing up to host a month-long group exhibition called “The History We Make.”
Beginning Thursday, the exhibition will serve as a time capsule illuminating the histories of Black and African diasporic communities, using individual experiences collectively to mark how Black history is made every day.
Artists featured in the exhibition include Brooklyn-based acrylic painter Jonelle Austin, Harlem-based textile artist Belchez, Brooklyn-based photographer Nigil Crawford, Brooklyn-based publisher and multidisciplinary artist Malik Kirkwood, NYC-based portrait artist Kalae Nouveau, Brooklyn-based Afro-surrealist painter and photographer Fatou Ridgird and NYC-based interdisciplinary artist Shangari.
All creatives work across different mediums and disciplines to express their individualized perspectives in relation to Black and Women’s history. Many are emerging artists on the scene.
“We are the authenticators of everything,” said Belchez. “The history we make often gets overshadowed and or never spoken about. In creating my artwork for this particular show I have chosen to highlight the way we idolize certain luxury brands. You can see the depiction of false idols throughout the art pieces. In creating this artwork the hope is to raise in awareness on the things we praise.”
“The History We Make” will also welcome Everette Hampton, who makes her curatorial debut at Brooklyn Art Haus.
“I was really trying to find artists that spoke to the idea that Black people are not a monolith, we are so many things,” Hampton told Brooklyn Paper. “I really wanted to find artists who communicated that through their work clearly and there’s so many things that we battle with as a culture and we are constantly learning more about ourselves and we are trying to realize ourselves in our images in the way in which we want to be received.”
Through “The History We Make,” Hampton felt it was important to highlight the histories of Black communities, but also to show how the present and future interact and intersect with those histories.
“I think we take a lot from our past and we’re always trying to figure out where to put it and if it still speaks to us and how it speaks to us,” said Hampton. “We take pieces of our past and allow it to embellish our present. We really allow our ‘presents’ to show up and project our futures.”
It was also vital to honor both Black History Month and Women’s History Month in tandem, showing how both experiences and both communities are intrinsically intersected.
“It was really important to me to have both of them coexist because Black women especially are those who are often ignored, often undervalued, the least loved,” Hampton said. “And I really wanted to protect a space where Black women were being honored and were of course being supported by male artists and by non-binary artists. I believe women are central to all histories.”
“The History We Make” will debut on Feb. 22 with an opening reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Brooklyn Art Haus and will be on display for the general public through March 30.
To learn more about Brooklyn Art Haus, visit bkarthaus.com
Last updated Feb. 20, 2024 2:33 p.m.
