Everywhere I Go Is Home

In 1948, Primrose Paschal sat with Evelyn Leaverson Davis and a young girl in her painting studio to realize what we know today as “Beulah’s Baby”. A reproduction of this painting made it’s way into the art collection of The Stephens’ Family and traveled through Atlanta,GA as they moved from home to home. This painting grounded The Stephens family and the walls it kept. It became a reflection of motherhood and the feeling of tenderness between a mother and child, that their Grandmother made apparent in the ways that she loved them and her community.

Everywhere I Go Is Home investigates the relationship that we have to cultural artifacts in the homes of friends and loved ones. Specifically, paintings that were marketed to African Americans through local galleries, art fairs, exhibitions and massive print sales which were painted during periods of racial segregation through the civil rights movement.

It is a recollection of elders' homes that have kept us safe from the outside world. Walking into their kitchens and sitting at their feet in their living rooms, we learned a lifetime of lessons. May a photograph be a portal back into their arms. May a figurine be a touchstone of remembrance to a time where you found peace. May a collage fill in the gaps that you may have forgotten.

As the Inaugural Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-in-Residence I am excited to extend the conversation and showcase the work of contemporary artists which are now being acquired, installed and preserved in familial collections. It is here that they activate the love they were given and share it with their communities who are looking for alternative strategies to continue to fight for a world that we believe is possible

Featuring: Ariel Dannielle, Candace Caston, Lauren Jones, Rita Harper, Shefon Taylor