Opening Reception SANKOFA 23 : The Sankofa Project Exhibition 2020-2023 curated by Tierney Malone featuring work by Rabéa Ballin, Sheila Pree Bright, Tay Butler, Robert Hodge, Ann Johnson, Tierney Malone, David McGee, Jason Moran, and Lovie Olivia

SANKOFA 23 : The Sankofa Project Exhibition 2020-2023 will open Saturday, September 16 with gallery hours 11 AM – 5 PM and a reception with the artists and curator from 4 – 6 PM

This fall, Lawndale will present SANKOFA 23 : The Sankofa Project Exhibition 2020-2023, a culminating group exhibition curated by Malone featuring all nine artists of The Sankofa Project: Rabéa Ballin, Sheila Pree Bright, Tay Butler, Robert Hodge, Ann Johnson, Tierney Malone, David McGee, Jason Moran, and Lovie Olivia. While some artists will present new works, others revisit past artwork made for The Sankofa Project. 

This exhibition will be accompanied by a publication (including exhibition documentation, artist statements, and excerpts from collaborating scholars) created by Malone and designer Corey De’Juan Sherrard Jr. SANKOFA 23 will be on view through Saturday, December 16, 2023 (forthcoming programs to be announced).

Curated by Tierney L. Malone, The Sankofa Project is a multi-year examination of the historical events leading up to our current moment of social unrest and racial reckoning. Beginning with the people and stories that make up our own communities of Houston, this project aims to bring light to the events that have been censored or ignored in historical narratives in order to reinforce the racial oppression of Black Americans.

The Sankofa Project will commission three artists annually to create and present new work that is reflective of their own experience in contemporary America and related to the work of scholars and historians who are leading conversations on race and inequality. The artists’ work will be presented in Lawndale’s east-facing windows on Main Street and accompanied by a podcast and public program to inspire dialogue within our community.

“Sankofa” is the Ghanaian word most commonly translated as “one must acknowledge the past in order to move forward.” Thus, in The Sankofa Project, Malone brings together artists and our community to reflect upon the past, reminding us of the power of art to serve not only as the language of humanity but also its catalyst for change.