ARE MUSEUMS INCLUSIVE & REPRESENTATIVE?

We need to be better…

With the threat of COVID-19 not yet behind us and persistent, painful displays of violence and inequity against people of color across the nation, our concern for the health, safety, and well-being of all members of our community is of the utmost importance.

While the museum’s mission is primarily arts education, it is well documented that the arts embrace and depend upon diversity, humanity, and freedom of self-expression. As we approach reopening our doors on June 23rd, The Mobile Museum of Art joins with countless others in our local, national and global communities in support of racial equality and justice. Through our exhibitions and programs we strive to create a safe, calm environment in which to share, and explore these important issues.

We have a current exhibition, BESA: A Code of Honor, on our ground floor, documenting photographically Albanian Muslims whose courageous actions and humanity saved Jews from the anti-Semitic atrocities of the Holocaust. In the adjacent area on the same floor, we have added a modest presentation of work from the collection by African American artist Jacob Lawrence and local artist, Charles Smith, in honor of George Floyd and other victims of racial injustice.

In January 2021, we will continue our support with an important exhibition of photographs by the famed African American photographer Gordon Parks, his Segregation Story series shot in Mobile in 1956. That installation, co-organized by the Gordon Parks Foundation and generously underwritten by Merceria Ludgood, Mobile County Commission District One, and The Altmayer Charitable Trust, will be accompanied by educational programs of various disciplines and a chronology of the Civil Right movement of the 50s and 60s.

It won’t be enough, but as we reopen MMoA’s doors, we will continue to plan and present exhibitions and programs that explore new avenues for inclusion and foster community through the arts. We add our voice to building a stronger Mobile. We will be better. Join us.

With love and respect,

Your Mobile Museum of Art