CHAPEL HILL, NC.- The Ackland Art Museum presents Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South at the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from April 21-July 2, 2023. The exhibition, organized by the Ackland, will later open as a special exhibition at the new International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015.

Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South highlights and amplifies the genius of the Black southern artists whose work it showcases, both celebrating the art on its own merits and drawing connections to mainstream movements in contemporary art. Past attempts at description such as “folk,” “self-taught,” or “outsider” have never quite accurately expressed the uniqueness and nuance of this work, nor the wide array of distinctive individual voices it encompasses.

“This exhibition celebrates artworks that exert expressive agency in a land and history where agency has been denied by law and custom, circumscribed by convention, and devalued by system,” said Bernard L. Herman, professor emeritus of American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and lead curator of Unsettled Things.

With the exception of two works from the 1940s, the selection focuses on art of the past five decades. Artists include Leroy Almon, Mary Lee Bendolph, Hawkins Bolden, Richard Burnside, Archie Byron, Thornton Dial, Sam Doyle, Minnie Evans, Bessie Harvey, Lonnie Holley, Joe Light, Ronald Lockett, Charlie Lucas, Joe Minter, John B. Murray, Lucy T. Pettway, Royal Robertson, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lorenzo Scott, Mary T. Smith, Georgia Speller, Henry Speller, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, Bill Traylor, Luster Willis, Nettie Young and Purvis Young.

“Unsettled Things is in large part the product and summation of the Ackland’s long relationship with noted collector William S. Arnett (1939-2020) and his later Souls Grown Deep Foundation, which generously chose the Ackland as its first university art museum beneficiary. The Ackland, in collaboration with researchers, students and visitors, has often used these works to explore crucial and ever evolving discussions of power, agency and aesthetics in modern and contemporary art,” said Lauren Turner, associate curator for contemporary art and special projects at the Ackland, who curated the show with Bernard L. Herman.

"The Ackland was a pioneer in collecting and exhibiting these southern artists more than a decade ago,” said Katie Ziglar, director of the Ackland. “We are delighted that this latest exhibition will bring their work to a wider audience. It's an honor to partner with the new International African American Museum and our very own Bernie Herman, a leading scholar in this fascinating field.”

“We are excited that this special exhibition features works and voices of African American artists whose contributions to the American artistic canon have often been untold,” said Dr. Tonya Matthews, president and CEO of the International African American Museum. “Partnering with The Ackland to amplify the voices of these artists has been a great privilege for us. Much like the histories of the African American journey and the experiences of the artists themselves, these artistic visions resonate the trial and joy, trauma and resilience that breathe life into the mission of our museum.”

"We are pleased to support the Ackland Art Museum in hosting Unsettled Things, an art exhibition highlighting 28 previously overlooked but now revered southern artists," said Kari Stoltz, president, Bank of America Triangle. “At Bank of America, we believe in the power of the arts to help educate and enrich societies, and bring communities together through a greater cultural understanding."

Bank of America is also a corporate supporter of the newly constructed International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, which will be Unsettled Things’ next venue.

Herman and Turner have drawn on fieldwork, artist interviews and research undertaken by the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, whose archive is now housed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is open for further research. Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South is organized by the Ackland.

Join us for a variety of art-inspired events for all ages, including a virtual conversation about Joe Minter's African Village in America; a curators' introduction to Unsettled Things; hands-on art-making classes for kids, inspired the the exhibition; an evening 2nd Friday ArtWalk with wine pairings from Melanated Wine; a study day with the authors of the book The Unfinished Business of Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South (UNC Press, 2022); a work-in-progress screening of a documentary on artist Minnie Evans; and a drop-in family program inspired by the show. Details will be posted on the exhibition page soon.

Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South is on view at the Ackland from April 21-July 2, 2023. A companion publication, The Unfinished Business of Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South, is available from UNC Press.