September 14, 2021 – May 6, 2022
Storytelling is a catalyst for change.
Our 2020 exhibition Reckonings: Fleming staff reflect on our collection and the current moment focused on how we can use art to tell stories about our feelings and experiences in reaction to worldwide trauma. “Reckoning” is a long-term and iterative process, particularly when it comes to overcoming centuries of racial oppression as represented on the Museum’s walls and in our collections. This gallery includes some works from Reckonings with new stories attached to them about what we have learned, and unlearned, over the last year.
We’ve also added new works that help us think about the power of storytelling to enact change. These works are just the beginning, a jumping-off point for that storytelling to expand beyond the Museum’s staff, to those who have rarely been heard here before. This is a space to gather ideas about what new kinds of stories can be told in the Museum, to prioritize sharing multiple perspectives, to de-center the Museum’s authority, and hold space for new voices.
Support for this installation is provided by the Kalkin Family Exhibitions Fund, the Walter Cerf Exhibitions Fund, and the Vermont Arts Council.
Romare Bearden’s “The Family,” 1975
Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988), The Family, 1975 (detail). Color etching and aquatint on paper. 20 x 26 inches. © 2021 Romare Bearden Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
William Villalongo’s “Embodied,” 2018
William Villalongo (American, b. 1975) Embodied, 2018 (detail). Laser cut felt with archival pigment print. Museum purchase, Way Fund, 2020.7. Published by Graphicstudio, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Photo: Will Lytch
Manuel Ocampo’s “The Compensatory Motif in the Libidinal Economy of a Painter’s Bad Inconscience,” 2001
Manuel Ocampo (Filipino, b. 1965), The Compensatory Motif in the Libidinal Economy of a Painter’s Bad Inconscience, 2001 (detail). Lithograph with chine collé. 30 × 22 inches