Lost in Transition

In July 2021 the NCMA and partner Michael S. Williams, consultant, curator, and founder of the Black On Black Project, initiated a creative arts program that responds directly to research-based needs of North Carolina communities outside the greater Triangle area. Creating space for dialogue and programming that examine racial and social injustices through the perspectives of Black Americans, the program connects practicing artists with community histories, sharing those histories through the visual and performing arts.

The first community-based project, Lost in Transition, launched in Wilmington in April 2022. It focused on the history of Black educators who worked in segregated and desegregated schools across eight decades of the 20th century. During several public events, including programs at the nonprofit DREAMS Center for Arts Education and open gallery hours at 210 Princess Street, Lost in Transition used performance and portraiture to facilitate conversations that recognized the educational past of Black people in southeastern North Carolina. The programs continued the dialogue about present learning conditions for

Black students and explored ideas related to creating equitable education.

Bertha Boykin Todd, 93, is one of two educators still alive who were featured in this project. Todd, who came to Wilmington in 1952 to be the librarian at the segregated Williston Industrial High School, explained in a video interview for the project that Black educators “were dedicated to higher education and sought to improve themselves constantly as they guided the students to help fulfill their potential.” Lost in Transition shared these stories and experiences.

Lost in Transition the Performance, created by UNC Wilmington theater students Addison Hamlet, Malik Fowler, and Khori Talley, used excerpts from oral histories to share the impact and experience of Black educators. The actors highlighted how these teachers cared for and taught their students.

Charcoal portraits of 10 educators by artist Alexandria P. Clay, a former NCMA Teen Arts Council member, were on view through November. She created the portraits, which were sourced from high school yearbooks from the 1950s and 1960s, using a fluid and expressive wet charcoal technique that allowed her to convey how fleeting our most precious memories can feel.

The project deepened Clay’s admiration for educators. She remarked, “Being a part of Lost in Transition has been an incredible experience. I’ve always had a great deal of respect for our educators but learning about the specific experiences of these highly regarded individuals has further informed that view. I am astounded by the dedication, loving concern, and lasting impact of these figures.” To learn more about this project and the featured educators, visit lostintransition.art.

This partnership between the NCMA and Williams continues to develop and deliver high-quality programming across the state and will soon feature a project in Asheville. Our goal is to create eight impactful programs of varying scope by 2025. As a component of our statewide outreach, these programs aim to connect people across the state with North Carolina histories, artists, one another, and the NCMA.

This work is funded by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.

Programs such as Lost in Transition can’t happen without support from people who care about the Museum and its mission. Please consider donating to the NCMArts Fund at qrco.de/ncmaartsdonation