Homecoming exhibited at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art!

Lava Thomas: Homecoming exhibited at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art last fall. The exhibition included three bodies of work: Mugshot Portraits: Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (2018-2021), Decatur (2022) and Looking Back and Seeing Now (2015-2021). Having the work exhibited at such a historic institution was a profound experience.

The exhibition’s opening featured a series of programs, including a lunch discussion and tour of the exhibition with Spelman’s Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective. We were joined by Liz Andrews Ph.D.  SCMFA Executive Director; Bridget R. Cooks Ph.D. Curator of Lava Thomas: Homecoming, Professor of African American Studies and Art History at U.C. Irvine; Cheryl Finley Ph.D.  Inaugural Director of the Atlanta University Center Collective for the Study of Art History and Curatorial Studies, Professor of Art & Visual Culture at Spelman; Beverly Guy-Sheftall Ph.D. Founding Director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies at Spelman; Cynthia Neal Spence Ph.D. Co-chair of Sociology and Anthropology, Social Justice Fellows Program Director, UNCF/Mellon Programs Director, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at Spelman; Visiting Faculty Evlyn M. Hammonds Ph.D. Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science, Professor of African and African American Studies, Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, T. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. Inaugural Audre Lorde Visiting Professor of Queer Studies at Spelman; and Karen Comer Lowe Curator in Residence at Spelman.

Endless thanks to Bridget, Liz, the entire Spelman team, and the many supporters of the exhibition. Heartfelt gratitude to the descendants of the women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott for your presence and warmth.