60 years after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing—powerful exhibition on display now

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The Birmingham Museum of Art is pleased to host the highly acclaimed exhibition Dawoud Bey: The Birmingham Project, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing. The exhibition is a commemorative tribute to the four young girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, as well as two boys killed the same day in the aftermath. Keep reading to find out more.

The Birmingham Museum of Art

The Birmingham Museum of Art is one of the finest regional museums in the United States. The museum is home to a diverse collection of more than 27,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and decorative arts dating from ancient to modern times. In 2013, Dawoud Bey worked with the Birmingham Museum of Art to create a body of work commemorating the then 50th anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963.

• Location: 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35203
• Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10AM-5PM | Sunday Noon-5PM
• Cost: General Admission is FREE
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Dawoud Bey’s The Birmingham Project is a commemorative tribute.

The museum is opening the Dawoud Bey: The Birmingham Project exhibition to the public on Thursday, September 14, 2023 through January 14, 2024. The exhibition consists of 16 photographic pairs, called diptychs, by renowned photographer Dawoud Bey that pay tribute to the legacy of the tragic event while celebrating the resilience and strength of the Birmingham community.

Dawoud Bey is an American photographer best known for his large-scale portraits of underrepresented subjects. His work creates space for an enduring conversation about what it means to represent America with a camera.

“Through his lens, Bey offers a contemporary perspective on a historic tragedy that serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and justice. The Birmingham Project explores the complexities of race, identity and remembrance in a way that encourages reflection and dialogue.“

Graham C. Boettcher, R. Hugh Daniel Director, Birmingham Museum of Art

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September 15, 1963

The Birmingham Project offers a profound visual narrative that reflects on the historic events that unfolded on September 15, 1963, when an act of hatred and violence forever altered the course of civil rights history.

While getting ready for Sunday service, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley were killed by a bomb explosion in the stairwell of the downtown Sixteenth Street Baptist Church set by white supremacists. Later in the day two boys, Virgil Ware and James Johnny Robinson were killed by resulting violence.

More about Dawoud Bey’s exhibition at Birmingham Museum of Art.

Renowned for his remarkable ability to capture the essence and humanity of his subjects, Dawoud Bey presents a series of striking portraits that pay tribute to the six African American children who lost their lives that fateful day, as well as a split-screen video.

In 2013, Dawoud Bey visited Birmingham and produced the portraits, using the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Museum of Art as the setting, with the sitters being Birmingham residents. Each of Bey’s diptychs combines one portrait of a young person the same age as one of the victims, and another of an adult 50 years older—the child’s age had she or he survived.

Come view the 16 large-scale black and white photographic diptych portraits of 32 Birmingham girls, women, boys and men that powerfully show remembrance to the seminal event of the Civil Rights Movement at Birmingham Museum of Art.

Stay up to date with all the events happening at the Birmingham Museum of Art by following them on Instagram and Facebook.

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