Current Exhibition
Current Exhibition
I AM A Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men
A group exhibition curated by Sharon Bjyrd
November 18, 2024 through
February 28, 2024
Goodman South Madison Library
The exhibition is available for viewing during open library hours and is located at 2222 S Park St, Madison, WI 53713.
About the Exhibition:
I AM A Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men is a deeply personal and necessary reflection on the ongoing dehumanization of Black men in America. This exhibit was born out of Sharon Bjyrd’s emotional experience visiting the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Standing in the presence of history, she was moved to tears by the indignities Black people have endured—indignities that persist today, rooted solely in the color of our skin.
While much of Sharon’s art practice has centered on the beauty and dignity of Black women, the visit to the King Memorial shifted her perspective. Sharon became acutely aware of the stark difference in how Black men face life-altering and, too often, life-ending consequences of racial macro-aggression. This realization, as the daughter, sister, aunt, and mother to great Black men, propelled her to use her art to re-humanize them.
This exhibit draws from the iconic “I Am A Man” slogan, which emerged during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike, a protest against the dangerous and degrading conditions Black workers endured. Dr. King’s final days were spent standing in solidarity with those men, and on April 3, 1968, he delivered his famous speech, which said , “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” The next day, Dr. King was tragically assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, forever cementing his legacy as a martyr for justice and equality.
In this exhibit, I hope to reclaim the humanity denied to Black men, not only in moments of historic protest but in everyday life—whether through the devastating impact of systemic racism in policing, prisons, or the policies that enforced single motherhood.
Through this curated selection of works, I hope to spark a conversation about the intrinsic worth of Black men within the family, community, and society. This is a celebration of their strength, their resilience, and their joy—a tribute to the men who came before and those who are shaping our future. This is for the Black men in my life and all those who deserve to be seen and honored for who they are: fully human, fully worthy.
Curator Statement by Sharon Bjyrd
”As an artist deeply rooted in the rich cultural landscape of the Black American experience, my work aspires to illuminate the profound strength and grace inherent in this community. Using paint and mixed media, I am crafting visual narratives that honor the resilience and dignity of Black Americans. Through my art, I seek to challenge and expand the prevailing mainstream narratives, offering a counterpoint that celebrates diversity, richness, and profound humanity.
My creations are a tapestry woven with vibrant hues, brown skin tones, and African-inspired prints. These elements come together to portray the elegant, dignified, and effortlessly regal manifestations of black beauty, intellect, and spirit. Each work is an intentional departure from monolithic and oppressive depictions, instead offering a multifaceted view that is as diverse as the community it represents.
In my art, I strive to cast light upon the myriad facets of Black life that deserve attention and reverence. Each piece a whisper of history, a shout of triumph, and a song of hope. My canvases transcend their physical form, serving as both art and advocacy—a call to action, a plea for recognition, and a celebration of culture. My brush dances to the rhythm of a legacy, each stroke a hymn to the unsung, each color a note in the symphony of Black voices that deserve to be heard, amplified, and celebrated. Through my work, I invite viewers to engage with the depth and breadth of the Black experience, urging a reflection that is both personal and collective.”
Community Exhibition Gatherings:
Join the curator, Sharon Bjyrd and exhibiting artists of I Am A Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men. There will be community conversations, comments from the exhibiting artists, performances from Da Classroom Ain't Enuf and participatory art opportunities.
Thursday, December 5 at Goodman South Madison Library from 6:00 - 7:30pm
Saturday, January 18 at Goodman South Madison Library from 1:00 - 4:00pm
Thursday, February 20 at Goodman South Madison Library from 6:00 - 7:30pm
Exhibiting Visual Artists:
Jerry Jordan is an illustrator and painter working in a combination of Afro futurism and contemporary realism. He credits the artist, writers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance as the ones that showed him that a life in art was possible. He counts such artist as John S. Sargent, William M. Chase and Joaquin Sorolla just to name a few, as his major artistic influences.
He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Whitewater with a BA in Art, as well as his MS in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Art Education. With a growing body of work ranging from book illustrations, portraiture and murals he is quickly becoming a highly sought after artist.
About Jerry Jordan
About DaRen Morris
“Seventeen.
That was my age when I was sentenced and I have now served more than half of my life in maximum security Wisconsin prisons.
My sentence? Life in prison.
My crime? I was party to the unintentional death of an innocent man.
Although I was involved in this death, I am not a murderer. I know this in my heart, in my regret for this loss of life, and through my daily actions.
I am an artist. I paint and donate my works of art. In the years to come I want to create art that will help save youth from making thoughtless choices. I also want to create art that will help you on the outside understand what we face on the inside—the very real need for prison reform in Wisconsin and elsewhere and the very real need to involve more people in working toward prisoner rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Most of us on the inside are both perpetrators and victims. Hurt people hurt people.
Help me lessen the hurt.” - DaRen Morris
About Alice Traore
Alice Y. Traore currently resides in Madison, WI, but was raised in Peoria, IL. She works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a facilitator and curriculum designer of learning communities that assist faculty and staff in the exploration and implications of their social and cultural identities. Traore describes herself as a self-taught watercolor artist. Her artist-life adds an additional layer of depth to her full-time work as it provides her further space to explore her own socio-cultural journey.
About The Artist
As a young child, I often saw Dr. Martin Luther King across the street from my Southside Chicago elementary school. He was a pastor and an activist but seemed approachable. He had yet to evolve into the great humanitarian we think of today.
Living in those times, experiencing the events taking place in America, from Viet Nam to the Kennedys, shaped my ideas about art. Civil rights were the forefront of the times. Music defined the era. While I was growing up, I felt a burning fire to express myself. I applied my creative skills to writing poetry, but I felt restricted and yearned for more. I began drawing and illustrating storyboards. Art has always come to me with very organic expression.
About Shandra Bjyrd
Shandra Bjyrd has been a studio artist and pottery instructor for about 15 years. In addition to creating her own art there, she manages and instructs classes at Midwest Clay Project, a thriving pottery studio in Madison, WI.
Shandra’s passion for form and the way flow interacts with it hasn't changed in her fifteen plus years of ceramics experience,. The way clay flows between her fingers, how her vessel shapes flow in waves and curves, and how glaze flows across the surfaces of handmade forms
Shandra’s goal drives her at every turn in her ceramics career to pursue harmony between the utilitarian and artistic realms and to delve farther into herself in order to reveal and infuse awe in the work, for its sake and the sake of its users.
Featured Partners:
About Da Classroom Aint Enuf
Da Classroom Ain't Enuf is an exploration of the intersection of Black and Brown communities, particularly with the American educational system. The work is a choreopoem written by Madison-based poet, essayist and social artist Charles Payne, who was inspired by the work of Ntozake Shange.
Da Classroom Ain’t Enuf debuted at the The Magnetic Theatre in Asheville, NC (June 2023) and shared locally at The Broom Theater in Madison, WI (April-May 2024).
About Making Justice
Making Justice, through the Bubbler at Madison Public Library, is a community-based learning program for at-risk and court-involved teens that includes weekly workshops and artist-in-residence opportunities. The program addresses the nation's widest Black/white educational opportunity gap and highest per capita black juvenile arrest and incarceration rate [Wisconsin Council on Children & Families, Race to Equity (2013)].
Making Justice hands-on, project-based programming is in collaboration with a diverse spectrum of artists, educators and activists. Making Justice fosters community engagement and self-expression via graphic and 3D art, photography, spoken word, performance, video and life skills projects.
The recent Making Justice mural project We Wish You Knew will be featured in this exhibition.
Bubbler exhibitions are supported by Dane Arts and Friends of the Madison Public Library.
