Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory

Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory presents contemporary art inspired by historical events, creating a framework in which to honor and contemplate the ongoing fight for freedom and equality in Black America. Working in a range of mediums including photography, video, projection and mixed media, the artists featured in this exhibition address questions of private and public memory as it relates to racism, segregation and slavery.

As innovative as these artists are, many draw inspiration from archival materials, either directly illustrating or alluding to known images or historic sites. By bringing the past into conversation with the present, they reclaim narratives burdened with trauma and tragedy, making history more real, and offering new ways to think about the Black experience. Although the legacy of injustice endures, the pain and suffering experienced by specific individuals in the past can only be  approached through reconstruction and reimagination.

Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory is curated by Cheryl Finley, Ph.D., and Deborah Willis, Ph.D., and originated as a FotoFocus exhibition at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, on the occasion of the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial. The traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial Exhibitions, Pasadena, California.