June 1 - August 13, 2023
From the Lawndale:
“Mothers March On photographic project is about Black women who have witnessed the tragic loss of their children who have fallen to police brutality. The pain of losing a child to senseless violence is unimaginable, yet this is the reality that too many Black mothers face in our communities. Historically, Black women have been the backbone of their families, communities, and movements, often carrying the world’s weight on their shoulders. As a Black woman in America, I recognize the systemic oppression that has historically affected us. Our gender and race have made us more vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
“This project pays homage to the sacrifices, wisdom, and guidance of Black mothers as nurturers and protectors who are passing on a legacy of determination and love showing how they are fierce and tender, protective and vulnerable, and strong and soft. I’m honoring the struggles of Black mothers celebrating the beauty of their strength and resilience. These mothers continue to march on for Human rights for their children to bring attention to the urgent need for police reform and the systemic racism that continues to fuel police brutality against Black bodies since slavery.
In my artistic practice, I aim to shed light on the complexities of our struggle and amplify our voices and stories, often ignored or silenced, to create art through the lens of the Black gaze to challenge the social constructs that perpetuate the marginalization of Black women by creating a space for dialogue and reflection on how Black women have been and continue to be oppressed in America. Hopefully, we can work towards a more just and equitable society by acknowledging and confronting these issues.” – Sheila Pree Bright
Sheila Pree Bright is a photographer and activist-artist who continues to express herself through the visual experience. She makes engaging photographs and creates provocative installations while creating a series of critical images of what it means to be an American. For Pree Bright her creativity is part of a collaborative process. She contextualizes the voices of young protesters by weaving their words and faces into her portraits. She brings the same passion to her documentation of today’s social protest movements from Atlanta, Baltimore, and Ferguson to Washington, DC as did her predecessors who made photographs in the 1960s civil rights protests for equal rights. From the right to free speech to the desire to have a sound education to a right to fair housing opportunities, she champions the right of all Americans to a full participation in the American democratic process. It is encouraging to see the work of Pree Bright connect photographs to this memory, hence the title of her series 1960Now!
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Curated by Tierney L. Malone, The Sankofa Project is a multi-year examination of the historical events leading up to our current moment of social unrest and racial reckoning. Beginning with the people and stories that make up our own communities of Houston, this project aims to bring light to the events that have been censored or ignored in historical narratives in order to reinforce the racial oppression of Black Americans.
The Sankofa Project commissions three artists annually to create and present new work that is reflective of their own experience in contemporary America and related to the work of scholars and historians who are leading conversations on race and inequality. The artists’ work will be presented in Lawndale’s east-facing windows on Main Street and accompanied by a podcast and public program to inspire dialogue within our community.
“Sankofa” is the Ghanaian word most commonly translated as “one must acknowledge the past in order to move forward.” Thus, in The Sankofa Project, Malone brings together artists and our community to reflect upon the past, reminding us of the power of art to serve not only as the language of humanity but also its catalyst for change.
The Sankofa Project is made possible in part through Texas Commission on the Arts’ Arts Respond Grant.”
Reception: June 1, 2023 | 7–9 pm
4912 Main Street
Houston, 77002 TX
(713) 528-5858
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