IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alyssa Fridgen, Curator [email protected] 318-443-3458

Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection Exhibition Dates: December 6, 2013–February 22, 2014 Member Preview Reception: Friday, December 6, 2014, 6-8pm

Alexandria Museum of Art is pleased to announce Reflections: African American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection, an exhibition of 50 pieces from the collection of renowned costume designer and arts patron, Myrna Colley-Lee, who lives in rural Mississippi, Reflections tells a highly personal story of community and place. Featuring work by prominent artists Radcliffe Bailey, , Carol Ann Carter, Elizabeth Catlett, Ernest Crichlow, Gerald DeLoach, James Denmark, Roland L. Freeman, Randy Hayes, Rod Ivey, Gwendolyn Knight, Norman Lewis, Milly Moorhead, Joseph Norman, Tom Rankin, Paula Rego, Betye Saar, Maude Schuyler Clay, John Scott, James Van Der Zee, Thomas “TJ” Walker, Eudora Welty, Charles Wilbert Ernest Crichlow, Window, 1980, oil on canvas. Myrna- White, Hale Woodruff, and George Yerger. Colley Lee Collection 2010.017. Image courtesy of the artist. Comprised of paintings, works on paper, collages, and fabric works, the figurative and representational imagery of the exhibited pieces can largely be divided into two areas: narrative or genre subjects from everyday life, and the landscape of the American South. The juxtaposition of these two distinct yet related themes, allows viewers to connect the strong tradition of storytelling by African Americans, with the sense of place that is largely unique to Southerners. Myrna Colley-Lee is herself a transplant to rural Mississippi, and her collection reflects in part her personal appreciation of the two traditions and the way in which she sees them intertwine. This collection represents a dialogue between the artist and identity. Only by reflecting upon the lives, traditions, and environments of African Americans in the 20th century, can this identity be found.

The use of collage by African American artists is well represented in Reflections, ranging from the work of modern master Romare Bearden, continuing through the art of legendary Bette Saar, and up through the younger postmodernist Radcliffe Bailey. Beginning with classic studio portraits by celebrated photographer James VanDerZee and concluding with contemporary prints by Tom Rankin and Maude Schuyler-Clay, the photographs included in the exhibition chronicle the past century in a straightforward, sometimes documentary, approach. Paintings and works on paper include examples by the iconic Elizabeth Catlett as well as lesser known and emerging artists including Roland Freeman and Charles White. Finally, textile works invigorate the exhibition with rich color and texture, and merge self-taught and folk artists with trained practitioners such as Carol Ann Carter, Geraldine Nash and Hystercine Rankin.

A cooperative effort funded by the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority (GAEDA)

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alyssa Fridgen, Curator [email protected] 318-443-3458

Myrna Colley-Lee, owner of the collection featured in the exhibition, has been credited as one of the forefront costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement. In 2006, Myrna established the SonEdna Foundation, Inc., an organization which supports and promotes the literary arts, with an emphasis on the Mississippi Delta region, through building national partnerships for programming across the country. In her role as Founder and President, Colley-Lee travels nationally as an advocate of the literary arts while promoting the organization and establishing relationships with other organizations. Her primary vision has been to improve the quality of literary education and increased readership for students and adult residents alike in the Delta region. Colley-Lee has received numerous awards, including Honored Artist from the National Museum of Women in the Arts; The Agatha Award from the Rowell Foster Children’s Positive Plan; Outstanding Costume Design from the National Black Theatre Festival; the Exemplary Arts Service Award from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education; the Wynona Lee Fletcher Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Designer from the Black Theatre Network; the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award; and she was recently inducted into the International Women’s Forum. Ms. Colley-Lee is the recipient of the Doctor of Creative Arts, honoris causa, from Mississippi State University, and the M.F.A. in Scenic and Costume Design from Temple University, studied scene painting and properties at College and completed the B.F.A. at the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The exhibition is co-curated by Rene Paul Barilleaux and Susan Lloyd McClamroch. Chief Curator at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, Barilleaux has organized numerous exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and well as authoring and editing complementary publications. He received a B.F.A. degree from The University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1979 and a M.F.A. degree from Pratt Institute in 1981. Independent curator Susan Lloyd McClamroch has an undergraduate degree in Art Business from Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, and holds master’s degrees in Southern Studies and Art History from the University of Mississippi, as well as a master’s in Preservation Studies from Tulane University’s School of Architecture. McClamroch has owned and operated a number of for-profit art businesses along the Gulf Coast, and since 1998 she has served as a documentary exhibition curator for the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss; an art collection curator and Art History educator for Tougaloo College, Jackson, Mississippi; an art collection manager and affiliate network coordinator for the Mississippi Museum of Art, also located in Jackson; and director of New Orleans’ sole Creole “country house” museum, the Louisiana Landmarks Society’s c. 1799 Pitot House.

Reflections is organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC in collaboration with the office of Myrna Colley-Lee.

A cooperative effort funded by the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority (GAEDA)

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alyssa Fridgen, Curator [email protected] 318-443-3458

RELATED PROGRAMS:

“Journey to Freedom” Film Screening & Panel Discussion Thursday, February 13, 6pm FREE and open to the public Journey to Freedom tells the true stories of two men—21st Century Cambodian Vannak Prum and 19th Century American Solomon Northup—who were sold into slavery more than 150 years apart, and examines the communities of abolitionists from yesterday and today who fight for people held against their will and forced to work for others. A panel discussion following the film will explore the concept of freedom through the context of Solomon Northrup, on whose memoir the feature film Twelve Years a Slave is based, and who helped build the historic Epps House now located at Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA), which houses the exhibition, “Epps House: Solomon Northup's Gateway to Freedom,” featuring some objects from Alexandria Museum of Art's folk art collection. Journey to Freedom is produced by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the U.S. State Department and Google.

Family Art Class: Piecing Art Together Saturday, February 15, 1-3pm Free for AMoA Member families, $20 per non-member family Families and kids of all ages will discuss the collage pieces of Romare Bearden from the exhibition, “Reflections: African-American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection,” on view at Alexandria Museum of Art, and then create collages inspired by the artist’s work. Bring the kids or just your kid at heart. Call to register: 318-443-3458.

Art Lecture by Dr. Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd Friday, February 21, 6pm Free and open to the public Curator, art historian, and Director of the New Orleans African American Museum, Dr. Mora Beauchamp-Byrd, will present an image slideshow and lecture on themes related to the exhibition, Reflections: African-American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee Collection. Dr. Beauchamp-Byrd holds a Ph.D. in Art History from Duke University, M.A. in Art History from Columbia University, and M.A. in Visual Arts Administration and B.A. in Art History from University.

MUSEUM HOURS, ADMISSION & CONTACT INFORMATION Alexandria Museum of Art, 933 2nd Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 / 318-443-3458 Museum Hours: Tue–Fri 10–5, Sat 10–4 FREE admission every 2nd Saturday! Regular Admission: $4 Adults, $3 Seniors/Students/Military, $2 Youth age 4-13, Free for Children 4 & under

A cooperative effort funded by the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority (GAEDA)