CONNECTING MUSEUMS, ARTISTS & COMMUNITY

Phyliss North, Rhonda Sewell and Patricia Andrews-Keenan during the Museum Leaders Meet & Greet at the Vjosa Café in Bridgeport during Pigment International’s exhibition Revolutionary.

On Friday, August 14, Pigment International welcomed a distinguished group of museum professionals and DEI practitioners to Vjosa Café & Events in Bridgeport for an intimate meet-and-greet focused on Black art, cultural leadership and the work of building more inclusive museum spaces.

Organized by Rhonda Sewell of the Toledo Museum of Art, the gathering brought together museum leaders visiting Chicago for programming connected to the Obama Presidential Center, along with artists featured in Pigment’s current exhibition, Revolutionary.

Guests learned more about Pigment International, the mission behind Black Fine Art Month and the artists represented in Revolutionary, creating an opportunity for meaningful conversation and exchange between artists and museum professionals.

Among those attending were Yuma I. Tomes, PhD, Horning Chief of Institutional Culture and Civic Responsibility at The Phillips Collection; Virajita Singh, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Minneapolis Institute of Art; Marquis Miller of the Obama Presidential Center; and Miller’s wife, Pamela.

Pigment also shared a preview of Issue VI of Pigment Magazine, along with plans for October’s Black Fine Art Month, expanding the conversation around the visibility, collection, presentation and preservation of Black art.

The evening was a reminder that meaningful connections between artists and institutions begin with conversation—and that Chicago remains a powerful meeting ground for shaping the future of Black art.