Suzanne P. Lamon: Paintbox Cornucopia Ferguson Gallery, Museum of Art + History August 1 - December 31, 2024 Visit the Museum of Art + History’s Ferguson Gallery from August to December 2024 to experience Paintbox Cornucopia, a captivating exhibition featuring the works of Suzanne P. Lamon. From her early days as an art student encouraged to paint "her life" to her profound personal challenges and resilience, this exhibition explores Lamon's journey through self-discovery and expression. At 15, Lamon’s ambition to be an artist was kindled and later fueled by her academic mentor who advised her to draw inspiration from her own experiences. Her search for subject matter led her through various roles—from cowboying to driving a log truck in the isolation of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. These experiences deepened her connection with the world, a theme vividly explored in her early works like Blue Axe. The exhibition also delves into more tumultuous times in Lamon's life, such as her battle with sarcoma that led to the amputation of her arm, profoundly impacting her artistic expression. Works like Trying To Wake the Dead and The Moon Takes a Ride showcase her resilience, capturing both her anguish and her unyielded passion […]

Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific reveals the deep and historic connection between people of African descent and the Pacific Ocean. On Exhibition September 12 – November 3 Most accounts of the United States’ maritime enterprises are disproportionately populated by white seafarers. Yet, from the 16th to the 20th century, Black whalers, commercial mariners, fishers, explorers, soldiers, and sailors traveled along the Pacific Coast and traversed the high seas. The stories of these mariners, their impact in shaping the American Pacific, and their legacy in the context of development of society and identity, are all explored in Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific. Black seamen onboard ship . Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection, African American Museum and Library at Oakland. Capt. and Mrs. William T. Shorey and family studio portrait at Oakland, Calif., after 1886. Courtesy San Francisco Maritime Museum. West African canoes, c. 1820-1850. Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA. Importantly, this exhibition recenters the relationship between Black folks, water, and ships. Take Me to the Water moves beyond the entrenched narrative of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and towards the understanding that Black people have not only existed in the Pacific region for centuries, but […]