2019.1 01 d o2 e1777586130297 Birmingham Museum of Art to unveil new Black American art exhibition — Joe Minter (born 1943), ’63 Foot Soldiers, 1999, found objects, including old Alabama license plates, shoes and boots, toys such as plastic dogs and guns, chains, clothing, an American flag, a metal grate and miscellaneous metal parts, paint, plastic hats, and tires, 49 1/2 × 82 × 32 in. (125.7 × 208.3 × 81.3 cm); Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase with funds provided by James and Elizabeth Outland, 2019.1, © 2026 Joe Minter / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

The Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) announced today it will display its Black American art collection, one of the most significant collections in the U.S, this September.

The landmark exhibition is called“Roll Call: Two Hundred Years of Black American Art,” and it features 99 works that trace two centuries of Black artistic production, placing questions of presence, authorship and institutional history in direct dialogue.

Since 1971, BMA has collected more than 1,000 works by 250 Black artists.

“Roll Call reflects both the artistic brilliance of Black artists and the ways a museum collection evolves through intentional choices and community engagement. The exhibition highlights moments when artists, curators, and advocates came together to expand the stories our collection tells.”
Jade Powers, Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art

BMA Black American Art installed in four sections

AFI.10.2009 01 o2 Birmingham Museum of Art to unveil new Black American art exhibition — Robert S. Duncanson (1821–1872), A Dream of Italy, 1865, oil on canvas, 20 5/8 × 35 in. (52.4 × 88.9 cm); Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art, AFI.10.2009

The installation will be organized in four thematic sections, according to the BMA:

The Ground We Stand On: Centers foundational moments in the museum’s history, including early and consequential acquisitions of work by Black artists
Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility: Foregrounds the role of community advocacy in shaping the collection
What Freedom Feels Like: Artists explore lived experience through a range of visual languages, from figuration to abstraction, offering reflections on daily life, self-expression and political consciousness
In the Heart of It All: Considers the significance of place, with works inspired by Alabama and Birmingham that connect local histories to broader cultural and national contexts

1989.63 01a p01 o2 Birmingham Museum of Art to unveil new Black American art exhibition — Yvonne Wells (born 1939), Proverbs Quilt, 1988, cotton, polyester, and mixed-blend plain and printed fabrics with buttons and rickrack trim, 75 × 64 in. (190.5 × 162.6 cm); Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 1989.63, © Yvonne Wells. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

The upcoming show, which draws entirely from BMA’s permanent collection, falls on the 75th anniversary of the museum.

“The exhibition reflects the cumulative impact of artists, curators and community members whose decisions and advocacy have expanded what is represented here. It is, in many ways, a measure of how far the museum has come and a reminder that this work is ongoing.”

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

“Roll Call: Two Hundred Years of Black American Art” will run from September 26, 2026 to January 17, 2027.

Facebook LinkedIn Tweet