"Doll" by Nina Buxenbaum will be on display at UMSL's Gallery 210, courtesty of Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans. The oil painting is part of the "Southern Journeys" exhibit.

The next Gallery 210 exhibit at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will examine the modern and contemporary responses of African American artists to the U.S. South. “Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South” will be on display Sept. 8 to Oct. 1 in Gallery 210. An opening reception will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8.

African American artists have long pondered their connection to the South. They might have encountered the region as a literal space “below the Mason-Dixon line” or have experienced as a “place” of mind dreams, memories, spirit history or culture. These cultural “griots” tell multilayered stories in the form of drawings, paintings, sculptures, prints and mixed-media pieces.

The 54 artists in the exhibit have differing geographical ties to the South. Some were born there and have remained. Others have moved beyond its borders. Many who have never lived there have experienced it in one form or another, such as through vacations or while on business.

Whatever the experience, responses to the South still define these artists’ works. Some of the artists featured in the exhibit will include Radcliffe Baileu, Richmond Barthe, Romare Bearden, Beverly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence and Faith Ringold.

The Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans organized “Southern Journeys.” It is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Art Alliance; the Missouri Arts Council; and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center for the Humanities at UMSL and the Regional Arts Commission provided additional support.

Gallery 210 is on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

More information:
gallery210.umsl.edu
314-516-5976