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

In fall 2020, Tierney L. Malone began The Sankofa Project at Lawndale Art & Performance Center. Each year, three artists were commissioned to create work examining and responding to the history leading up to our current moment of social unrest and racial reckoning. Beginning with Houston’s communities and stories, this project aims to bring light to events that have been censored or ignored in historical narratives in order to reinforce the racial oppression of Black Americans. 

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. 

“Sankofa” is the Ghanaian word most commonly translated as “one must acknowledge the past in order to move forward.” Thus, The Sankofa Project and culminating exhibition SANKOFA 23 bring 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.

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 open Saturday, September 16, with gallery hours 11 AM – 5 PM and a reception with the artists and curator from 4 – 6 PM. 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.

Tierney L. Malone is a visual artist and modern day storyteller who uses the canon of African-American history and pop culture to create mixed media works that challenge contemporary culture and politics.

Malone has exhibited his art widely throughout Texas and the United States, including numerous solo exhibitions. His works are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Kansas City Jazz Museum, Kansas City, Missouri; Goldman Sachs, New York, New York; and the Federal Reserve Bank, Houston, Texas. He is the recipient of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant, a CACHH Visual Artist Grant, and a Kimbrough Visual Artist Grant.

Collaboration with the jazz community is also at the forefront of Malone’s practice, including commissions to create the jacket covers for jazz musician Don Byron’s 1999 CD, Romance of the Unseen, on the Blue Note Label and for jazz pianist Randy Weston’s 2003 performance at the Miller Outdoor Theater. In 2008, Malone completed two jazz-related major commissions: a limited edition print celebrating Da Camera of Houston’s 20th Anniversary and an outdoor mural entitled “Southern Sounds” for the Coleman Art Center in York, Alabama. Additionally, Malone is the creator of the Jazz Church of Houston and the host of the Houston Jazz Spotlight on 90.1 KPFT, both of which recognize and preserve Houston’s remarkable contribution to the musical genre of Jazz.

Born in Los Angeles and based in Houston’s historic Third Ward, Malone was raised in Mississippi and Alabama and considers himself a Southern Seed.