African-American artists respond to the American South in the exhibit “Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South” which opens today (Sept. 8) and stays up until Oct. 1 in Gallery 210 at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8. Artists on exhibit include many giants: Romare Bearden, Faith Ringold, Jacob Lawrence, Bev-erly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, Radcliffe Baileu and Richmond Barthe. These and other cultural griots tell multilayered stories of the South in drawings, paintings, sculptures, prints and mixedmedia.
The 54 artists in the exhibit have various geographical ties to the South. Some were born there and have remained. Others have moved beyond its borders. Many who have never lived there experienced it through American history and fable as well as their personal travel.
They might have encountered the region as a literal space below the Mason-Dixon line where American slavery took its last stand, or a fabled region of myth, family memories, spirit history.
The Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans organized “Southern Journeys.” It is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid- America Art Alliance; the Missouri Arts Council; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Gallery 210 is on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. More information: http:// gallery210.umsl.edu/ or 314- 516-5976.
