CAAM Here and Now - Spring 2018

here & now California African American Museum Spring 2018

welcome.

We proudly call California our home, and our current exhibitions delve into fascinating parts of our state’s history and culture, as well as the West Coast’s broader geographic and socio-political landscape, in varied and engaging ways.

How Sweet the Sound tells the compelling story of gospel music in Los Angeles. It charts decades of history and features remarkable artifacts, including the pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr. preached at Pasadena’s Friendship Baptist Church, a circa 1920s songbook from the National Baptist Convention, and music, of course!

We also fervently believe in the power of art to illuminate key issues and ideas of the past and current moment. We are delighted to be exhibiting works by five noted contemporary artists—Adler Guerrier, Pamela Smith Hudson, Eric Mack, Nicole Miller, and Shinique Smith—whose art grabs our visual attention while at the same time invites us to consider an array of issues facing our communities today, including homelessness, racial segregation, social justice, and threats to the natural world.

Finally, it’s our pleasure to announce that local collector Gordon W. Bailey has generously donated to the Museum a large number of important paintings and sculptures by self-taught artists. These additions to our collection allow us to broaden and deepen our understanding of African American art, and we are honored to have them join the more than 4,000 objects in our care.

We look forward to seeing you often this spring!

Photography by HRDWRKER unless otherwise noted.

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4 exhibitions | 8 public programs | 16 for families | 18 visit 3

exhibitions on view

Shinique Smith: Refuge Through September 9, 2018 For her first solo show at CAAM, Shinique Smith, who recently moved to Los Angeles, references landscapes of and for the displaced. The growing global epidemic of homelessness and the navigation of private and public spaces by those nomadic populations are central to the exhibition.

Smith’s bundles—composed of recycled personal clothing, fabrics, and objects—and paintings propose moments of abundance, rest, and spiritual reflection. The lifecycles of care and use evident in found materials and shifting notions of home are mapped and unfold in the gallery space. Smith uses the deliberate acts involved in collage and assemblage to explore ideas of hope and belonging, as well as how we, as human beings, create and share refuge. Her works disrupt the boundaries between object and subject, interior and exterior, and the forgotten and remembered in favor of a holistic and dynamic presence. Refuge proposes that we all belong to each other and have the capacity to build, shelter, and strengthen the ties that hold us together as a people.

This exhibition is curated by independent curator Essence Harden.

Nicole Miller: Athens, California Through September 9, 2017 How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles Through August 26, 2018 With vintage artifacts and photographs, memorabilia, and other fascinating ephemera, How Sweet the Sound explores how Los Angeles became a hub of twentieth-century gospel music and highlights beloved gospel musicians, including James Cleveland, Andraé Crouch, Sallie Martin, and others. The exhibition tells the long history of gospel in LA, including the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, the Great Migration of the 1940s, musical innovations within black church congregations, the genre’s key role during the Civil Rights era, and the thriving commercial success it enjoyed afterward.

How Sweet the Sound is a collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC) Gospel Music Archive. The exhibition is curated

by Tyree Boyd-Pates, history curator and program manager, CAAM, in conjunction with historian Dr. Daniel E. Walker, founder and curator of the Gospel Music History Archive at the USC Digital Library.

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Southern California-based artist Nicole Miller works with film, video, and sculpture to explore themes including subjectivity, self-representation, and agency, especially as they relate to African American subjects. For her first exhibition at CAAM, Miller debuts Athens, California (2016), a film that captures the stories of Washington Prep High School students living in Athens, California, a predominantly black and Latino unincorporated community in southern LA County. Many of the students have been deeply affected by gang violence in what is often cited as one of the region’s most dangerous communities. This presentation explores not only Athens and its high school residents, but also the racial segregation that exists there and the inequitable resources allocated to this specific neighborhood.

This exhibition is curated by Naima Keith, deputy director and chief curator, CAAM. 5

exhibitions on view

Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity Through August 26, 2018

Charting the Terrain: Eric Mack and Pamela Smith Hudson Through September 9, 2018

“Adler Guerrier’s work defines the quest for sanctuary in Black Urban America.” —KPCC, February 15, 2018

In Charting the Terrain, new and recent works by Atlanta-based artist Eric Mack and Los Angeles-based artist Pamela Smith Hudson offer nuanced, abstract perspectives on the West Coast landscape. Both create intricate compositions of aerial views that are reminiscent of topographic or satellite maps. Their detailed landscapes portray beaches and forests, sites that have recently endured natural and man-made devastation and rejuvenation. Honing in on their surroundings with geometrical, patterned, and grid-like or undulating forms, Mack and Smith Hudson provide new perspectives on the landscape genre while reflecting on resolutions to counter environmental disasters.

Adler Guerrier—known for his work in photography and printmaking that explores the poetics and politics of place—offers quiet, subjective observations of the landscapes of Los Angeles and Miami, the artist’s hometown. He examines the public space of the street as a site for civil discourse and disobedience, as well as the more private realm of the home and yard as places for meditative observation and reverie, addressing both as political spheres. Guerrier’s project for CAAM captures the lush sweetness of these places, and, as the title suggests, proposes intimate conditions and forms for black life and longevity.

This exhibition is organized by independent curator Diana Nawi. Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity is generously supported by ArtCenter/South Florida. This exhibition is also supported by David Castillo Gallery, Miami.

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This exhibition is curated by Vida L. Brown, visual arts curator and program manager, CAAM.

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public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Sunday, April 8, 2018 | 12:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Queens of the New Age: Festival of Extraordinary Women Queens of the New Age (est. 2015) is a growing creative collective and live music experience celebrating diverse female-identified producers, DJs, musicians, and multifaceted visual artists dedicated to education, empowerment, and creative expansion. Celebrate extraordinary women by immersing yourself in a day of family fun, featuring hands-on music education workshops, DJs, a live performance by the Grammy-nominated trio KING, and more.

Presented in partnership with the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation.

Friday, April 13, 2018 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Performing Radical Fictions This evening of “radical fiction” features an original, community-based performance along the lines of Theatre of the Oppressed—a technique that uses theater to promote social and political change—to explore how false notions of race, class, gender, and national origin are being used as tools of exploitation and oppression. The program is presented in conjunction with the 2018 Institute for Theatre & Social Change conference and is followed by a production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s An Octaroon, directed by Anita Dashiell-Sparks, which the New York Times called “this decade’s most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today.”

Saturday, April 14, 2018 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Saved by Grace Gospel Choir 20th Anniversary Concert USC’s Saved By Grace Gospel Choir presents their 20th anniversary concert at CAAM! Current and alumni members sing gospel hits accompanied by a student band from the USC Thornton School of Music, providing a night of worship, gratitude, and homecoming through song.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles.

Presented by Saved By Grace Gospel Choir, an organization parented by the USC Black Student Assembly.

Presented by the USC School of Dramatic Arts with support from the JIB Fund.

An Octoroon. Photo: Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts. © 2017

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Saturday, April 14, 2018 | 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Senga Nengudi: Improvisations and Conversations Inspired by the exhibition Senga Nengudi: Improvisational Gestures at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, this day-long symposium at CAAM and the Fisher offers new and familiar audiences an opportunity to experience the work of Senga Nengudi, as well as to investigate its intersections in contemporary art and performance.

Panels, screenings, and a performance bring together artists, students, activists, curators, writers, and intellectuals for a day of dialogue and discovery. RSVP required.

Schedule: Morning program at CAAM

Afternoon program at the USC Fisher Museum of Art

9:00 – 9:15 a.m.

Check in, coffee, and pastries

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

Lunch at the USC Fisher Museum of Art Courtyard

9:15 a.m.

Introduction and Opening Remarks Selma Holo, USC Fisher Museum of Art and Chelo Montoya, CAAM

2:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Performance: R.S.V.P. Choreographed by Senga Nengudi, with Cheryl Banks-Smith and Breeze Banks-Smith

9:30 – 11:00 a.m.

Improvise, Fetishize, Ritualize Elissa Auther, MAD/Bard, and Uri McMillan, UCLA, moderated

by Grant Johnson, USC 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Ritual in Rearview Senga Nengudi and Barbara McCullough in conversation with Isabel Wade, USC, and Maren Hassinger

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Roundtable: On Activism and Performance Senga Nengudi, Rafa Esparza, and Patrisse Cullors with Nao Bustamente, USC; moderated by Suzanne Hudson, USC Presented in partnership with USC Fisher Museum of Art, USC Roski School of Art and Design, USC Dornsife Department of Art History, and USC Visions and Voices.

Note: Capacity for the afternoon session is limited. RSVP required.

Tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Sunday, April 22, 2018 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 6, 2018 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 3, 2018 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

CAAM Reads!

Our monthly book club continues this spring with titles selected in conjunction with the exhibition How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles.

April’s book is David Ritz’s Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin. May’s selection is The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, along with his essay Letter from a Region in My Mind. In June, the selection is Tambourines to Glory by Langston Hughes. Join us for lively afternoons of spirited discourse moderated by CAAM’s research librarian, Denise L. Mc Iver.

public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

Thursday, May 3, 2018 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

In Conversation: Robeson Taj Frazier and Tommy the Clown Now on view, Nicole Miller’s video Athens, California ends with a moving scene depicting joy through dance. Join us for a conversation between USC professor Robeson Taj Frazier and Thomas Johnson aka Tommy the Clown, the legendary American dancer best known as the inventor of “clowning,” as they discuss the social impact of this prominent dance style, #blackjoy, and resistance.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Gospel-Oke Presented in conjunction with How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles, Gospel-Oke invites singers in all keys and levels to join in a spirited evening of karaoke dedicated to celebrating community with gospel music.

The gathering will be led by Diane White-Clayton (“Dr. Dee”), a composer, conductor, vocalist, and pianist whose style ranges from contemporary gospel to classical music. Expect soulful harmonies alongside uplifting ballads in this gospel karaoke night, where every willing singer is welcome.

Thursday, April 19, 2018 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The Beginnings of View Park Thursday, May 10, 2018 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Making Sense of Gentrification Thursday, June 28, 2018 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Implications for Planning and Policy: The Evolution of View Park Inspired by the exhibition Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity, come for lively conversations about Los Angeles’s View Park, one of the largest historically African American enclaves in the United States.

The first program focuses on the beginnings of View Park, a community developed between the 1920s and 1950s, and looks at how the neighborhood changed dramatically after the landmark 1948 Supreme Court ruling that declared racial covenants unconstitutional. The second and third meetings explore the evolution of the neighborhood from its beginnings to today, including its controversial inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The sessions are led by Karen Mack with LA Commons.

On May 6 we encourage you to participate in “Blooms with a View,” a garden tour in View Park. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased through Inspired Garden Artistry: inspiredgardenartistry.com/tickets 10

Tommy the Clown

Saturday, May 12, 2018 | 2:00 – 4:00 pm Conversation​s​by Artists for Artists Monica Rodriguez and Kelman Duran continue this series, conceived by artist Lisa C Soto and originally hosted at Soto Studio in Inglewood, which brings together creative contemporaries from many artistic genres, including visual, performing, and multidisciplinary practices. Two artists working in different mediums and with distinctly different approaches interview one another and then broaden their conversation to an audience of their peers.

Come for a stimulating, nurturing, and supportive environment where creatives can get to know one another and talk shop. A reception with homemade Caribbean food follows, cooked by Soto. Limited capacity, RSVP required.

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public programs All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Thursday, May 17, 2018 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Screening and Panel: Far Out Black In conjunction with the exhibition Gary Simmons: Fade to Black, Far Out Black features Afrofuturist short films that present visions of the future that are complex, unique, and vibrant. The panel following the screening includes filmmakers Buki Bodunrin, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Donovan Vim Crony, and Keith Josef Adkins. It gives the audience an opportunity to engage in conversation with these cinematic innovators about their films and their perspectives on working in the dynamic and quickly changing film industry. Moderated by curator and filmmaker Celia C. Peters.

Thursday, May 24, 2018 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Recycled Fashion Remix Workshop Join us for an afternoon of improvisational making. In the first part of the workshop, we will cut, tear, wrap, tie, and improvise using textiles inspired

by Shinique Smith: Refuge. Part two includes a fashion show remix activated by lively music. This program is led by students and faculty from the Otis College of Art and Design Fashion Residency.

Thursday, June 14, 2018 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

In Conversation: James Newton and Vida L. Brown on the Eric Dolphy Story Enjoy a night of storytelling and recorded music in celebration of the life and musical contributions of the late Eric Dolphy, a noted 20th-century multi-instrumentalist jazz musician. James Newton, distinguished professor of ethnomusicology at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, will share artifacts and stories about the musician and his Leimert Park home, which burned during the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. The program, moderated by visual arts curator and program manager Vida L. Brown, is presented in conjunction with Charting the Terrain, which features a work by Pamela Smith Hudson that references the home and speculates on treasures that may have been tragically lost.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Gospel Songversation Conversation and song come together to echo the narratives presented in How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles. Panelists include Dr. Margaret Douroux, composer and CEO of the Heritage Music Foundation, Rev. Calvin Rhone, recording artist and Los Angeles chapter representative of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, gospel musician Donald Webber, and Annette May, gospel singer and longtime friend of the late Rev. James Cleveland. The panel provides a historical narration of gospel music in Los Angeles combined with firsthand stories. The audience is invited to sing along, becoming an impromptu choir carrying the history from voice to heart.

Presented in conjunction with the Heritage Music Foundation’s 33rd National Annual Heritage Gospel Music Conference, hmfgospel.org

Tuesday, June 26, 2018 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Points of Access, The Fundamentals of Art Collecting: Charlie James, Alitash Kebede, Gianna and Demetrio Kerrison Organized by CAAM and Art + Practice (A+P), The Fundamentals of Art Collecting is the second program in the Points of Access series aimed at offering meaningful dialogues about our access to and understanding of contemporary art. In four public programs, CAAM and A+P welcome artists, collectors, curators, and museum administrators to discuss their diverse paths on how they have navigated the art world at each point in their careers. The series is designed for individuals at all levels of familiarity with contemporary art; no prior knowledge is required and all are welcome. Moderated by Melanie Edmunds, senior gallery partnerships manager at Artsy.

Gary Simmons installing Fade to Black

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public programs Reclaiming Our Time: Radical Self Care Now! When Representative Maxine Waters invoked the phrase “reclaiming my time” during a House Financial Services Committee meeting last year, social media went ablaze. Used by the Congresswoman to demand that her questions be answered, the phrase signaled that it was the moment for Waters—and maybe all of us—to take back our power.

Radical self care is the bold act of making your quality of life primary. This series explores how a balanced and vibrant life demands that we take our needs into consideration and act upon them.

Saturday, June 2, 2018 | 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Practicing the Art of Radical Self Care We continue Reclaiming Our Time: Radical Self Care Now! with three new activities and practitioners promoting wellness. Join us for a day of healthy outlets for body and mind.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Mind and Body Wirklates™ Kick off the day with Wirklates™ core building and balance! Lenise Jay leads a beginners workshop on this fun pilates-dance fusion and shares some principles on Pilates. Wirklates™ improves your core, flexibility, and posture and enhances mental awareness with easy-to-follow choreography to your favorite jams. All levels are welcome; bring your mats!

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. inCREASE the FOLD Make a paper keepsake in good company throughout the day in Suzanne Edwards-Acton’s folding workshop, which allows you to take home a reflective piece handmade by you.

2:00 – 3:00 p.m Mindful Awareness Meditation Mia Sykes, certified mindfulness facilitator and certified yoga teacher, and Lydell Martin, certified mindfulness facilitator, will lead the closing lesson on mindful awareness. Calming the mind and body to allow deeper listening, this session is dedicated to finding our centers.

All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Juicing Workshop and Move Workout Learn from LaKeasha Fit, chief juicing officer of 1987 Juice, about how juicing can support a nutritious lifestyle. A sweat workshop follows to dance and energize.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org Photo: XXXXXXXXXXX

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Sunday, May 20, 2018 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Place It Workshop with James Rojas All ages are invited to participate in an interactive workshop, organized in response to the exhibition Charting the Terrain, to reimagine urban planning and the rapidly changing landscape of Los Angeles. Build a replica of streets, topographical features, and key points of interest in your community to share with family and friends.

for families The California African American Museum welcomes children of all ages, and we present a wide range of interactive programs designed especially for families. From arts and crafts workshops to dance classes and storytelling, come explore art, culture, and history together at CAAM!

Sunday, April 15, 2018 | 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Sewing Rebellion Our presenter, Frau Fiber, and her army of Faux Fraus want you to stop shopping and start sewing! Address the environmental impact of T-shirt surplus by learning to upcycle and make functional and fashionable objects for everyday use. Bring your gently worn, unwanted, and clean T-shirts and discover simple fabrication and stitching strategies you can use for a lifetime. At the conclusion of the workshop we will have an improvisational parade and wrap-up discussion about our projects. All skill levels welcome.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018 | 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 | 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018 | 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Youth Now To inspire activism in the next generation of leaders, community mentors in a variety of fields welcome teens to participate in unscripted conversations and workshops about changing communities. Young people use art, critical thinking, and community organizing to reframe “responsibility” to mean “the ability to respond to a broken society.” This spring, teens share topics of interest and explore them with Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner Lakhiyia Hicks, who will lead the group in an interactive workshop.

Nutritional snacks provided by Vegan Outreach from 12–1 p.m. For individual students and school groups; enrollment required.

Created in partnership with Green Dot Schools and the USC School of Dramatic Arts under the advisory of Brent Blair, director of theatre and social change and associate professor of theatre practice.

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Sunday, May 27, 2018 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Sunprint Landscapes In tandem with the exhibition Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity, this mixed-media workshop combines the power of the sun with light sensitive paper to produce magical sunprints layered with text, found objects, and other embellishments. All ages welcome.

Sunday, April 22, 2018 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Light and Color The art and science of stained glass dates back hundreds of years and is often associated with the church, although stained glass was also found in wealthy homes and businesses. Today, it is produced by professional studios and has also become a popular hobby.

In this family workshop, create a window ornament that will glow in the sunlight. Recommended for 2nd grade and up.

Sunday, May 13, 2018 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Mothers Day Gardens Not good with gardening?

Why not start small? First, decorate a pot. Next, learn how to plant and maintain flowers or herbs that you can take home for a special someone.

Sunday, June 10, 2018 | 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Makers Fest Let your creativity flow at this all-ages affair featuring maker stations led by local artists. Learn from the pros of our community, including Yerneh Gabon, who uses raw clay vessels and sculpture to discuss water issues; Silas Munro, whose lettering design exercises will map and image our city; and Cole M. James, who will present a collage workshop centered on the narrative of preparing to breathe. Take home several creative treasures of your own! No prior art experience necessary; art materials provided.

Sunday, June 17, 2018 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Fathers Day Button Badges Make a handmade button badge that celebrates your special someone!

Use drawing and a mix of beautiful papers to create a personalized token of your appreciation.

All events are free unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

Please visit caamuseum.org for the most up-to-date information on upcoming public programs.

RSVP to CAAM programs at 213.744.2024 or rsvp@caamuseum.org

Saturday, June 30, 2018 | 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Charting Memory Make a map of your personal geographical journey with all of its diverse landmarks, either from recent memory or long ago. It may be the daily trip to and from school in your neighborhood or a journey you remember from another time and place. Think of all the significant places you have passed or visited, and use these memories to create a personal work of art using mixed-media techniques. Recommended for 3rd grade and up.

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The mission of the California African American Museum is to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art, and culture of African Americans, with an emphasis on California and the western United States.

visit How Sweet the Sound: Gospel Music in Los Angeles

Map Shinique Smith: Refuge Gary Simmons: Fade to Black Charting the Terrain Nicole Miller: Athens, California

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Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity

Research Library

  Conference Room

Admission is FREE. Hours Galleries open Tuesdays–Saturdays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sundays 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Location CAAM is located in Exposition Park, which is home to a variety of museums and attractions. Parking is $12 (cash only) at 39th and Figueroa Streets.

The Metro Expo line stop Expo Park/USC is a five-minute walk through the Rose Garden to the Museum.

Stay in touch with CAAM Phone: 213.744.7432 Email: info@caamuseum.org Sign up for our monthly e-news for updates on our exhibitions and public programs: caamuseum.org Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @CAAMinLA The California African American Museum is a state-supported agency and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

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NON PROFIT ORG US Postage PAID Permit No. 1619 Los Angeles CA

600 State Drive Exposition Park Los Angeles, CA 90037 caam state board of directors todd hawkins, president zna portlock houston, vice president cornelious burke victor griego terri holoman rev. cecil l. murray bari a. williams executive director, george o. davis

Shinique Smith, Sometimes I wonder, 2016 (detail). Acrylic, ink, fabric, collage, ribbon, and objects on canvas over wood panel, 60 x 60 x 8 in. Courtesy the artist