2017 Exhibitions

Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker's Tales of Slavery and Power

February 2 - April 30, 2017

Kara Walker has become one of the most widely-known and controversial artists working today. Exploring the painful history of American race relations through large-scale silhouette installations, Walker’s work transforms historical materials, literary sources and popular culture, challenging us to access buried emotions about our nation’s past. In her hands, the medium of silhouette becomes a tool for examining the traumatic legacy of slavery.

Kelly Carroll and Rita Rushana

Body Language

March 23 - April 30, 2017

This student-curated exhibition of works from the UMCA collection highlights the way drawings delineate bodies through tactile, visual, social, and even spiritual marks. Figure drawing has a unique potential to revise stereotypes and assumptions about different types of bodies.

Caitlin Cherry, Fruit Molotov Cocktail, 2017. 40 x 60 in.; digital print

Caitlin Cherry

March 23 - April 30, 2017

Caitlin Cherry was nominated by the renowned artist Kara Walker to be the artist-in-residence for a printmaking project at UMass in January, 2017 -- a collaboration between the UMCA and the Art Department's Printmaking Studio. The series of digital prints created during this residency is now on public view.

5 Takes On African Art / 42 Flags

September 27 - December 10, 2017

Continuing a tradition of hosting challenging, exploratory exhibitions organized by student curatorial teams, the UMCA presents 5 Takes on African Art / 42 Flags by Fred Wilson. This year's team of graduate students - from Art History (Yingxi Lucy Gong and Elizabeth Upenieks); Studio Arts (Vick Quezada); and Afro-American Studies/ Public History (Kiara Hill) - curate an exhibition of African art drawn from the collection of Charles Derby.

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