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Inside the BMA’s Galleries and Exhibitions: Africa to the Americas

BIRMINGHAM TIMES — The Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA)—located at 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203—has more than 27,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative pieces representing diverse cultures: Asian, European, African, American, Pre-Columbian, Native American, and others.

Published

6 years ago

September 6, 2019

Oakland Post

A portion of the piece, "Love is Blind" by artist Paul Cordes Wilm is shown at the Birmingham Museum of Art. (Photo by: Mark Almond)

By Erica Wright

The Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA)—located at 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203—has more than 27,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative pieces representing diverse cultures: Asian, European, African, American, Pre-Columbian, Native American, and others.

It also houses an extensive Contemporary Art Gallery and features a broad range of special exhibitions, including the currently running “Barbie: Dreaming of a Female Future” (Aug. 10, 2019 through Jan. 26, 2020, in the Arrington Gallery) and the soon to come “Ways of Seeing: Portrait” (Aug. 31, 2019, through March 8, 2020, in the Bohorfoush Gallery).

Here’s a closer look at some of the BMA’s galleries.

Contemporary Art

Contemporary art is defined as the art of today, produced by artists who are living in the 21st century. At the BMA, the contemporary art collections consist of artworks created after the 1970s up to today.

In the contemporary gallery, located on the first floor of the museum, hangs a large portrait of Birmingham-born artist Kerry James Marshall’s “School of Beauty, School of Culture.” The piece depicts a scene of black males and females in a beauty school, but its meaning is far more complex. It is a setting, familiar to most African Americans, that not only teaches a trade but also educates its clientele about African American culture through fellowship.

“When I was going through the permanent collection, I was very much thinking about the artists I know, love, and am familiar with, and then the different themes I’ve observed having been here in Birmingham,” said Hallie Ringle, the BMA’s Hugh Paul Curator of Contemporary Art, who has been in the Magic City since October 2018.

The work of prominent African American artists, many of whom hail from Birmingham and across the state of Alabama, are important in the gallery, said Ringle, who is responsible for planning exhibitions and caring for the permanent art collections.

“There are so many artists from Birmingham that I think are incredibly significant, like Joe Minter. We have his ‘Reparations Now’ piece; it’s a new acquisition,” she said. “I want to think about what labor meant. What does it mean to spend your whole life working for something, especially when that labor isn’t always visible or isn’t always credited? … I kept thinking about those things in terms of Birmingham. We see all these things happening around us, but who actually does [the work] and what does this mean in terms of a larger society?”

Aside from the “School of Beauty, School of Culture” and “Reparations Now” pieces, the Contemporary Art gallery features many other notable pieces, including a portrait of activist and Birmingham native Angela Davis titled “Revolutionary” by Wadsworth A. Jarrell. Words from her speeches—struggle, resist, black, beautiful, revolution—swirl around her and emanate from her hair.

In selecting works that will be displayed in the gallery, Ringle’s goal is to bring people closer to the artists.

“I want to recognize how they experience art wherever they are,” she said. “Birmingham is a very creative city. … Maybe it’s in a sign that you’ve seen or a mural that you painted or whatever you do in your life that’s creative and artistic.”

In addition to considering how she can connect viewers to the piece or the audience, Ringle does extensive research when selecting works for the gallery.

“My process is a little different from that of my colleagues because the artists are living for the most part. One of my favorite things to do is work with living artists and make sure their dreams are executed in our galleries,” she said. “Sometimes I pick art that’s on the walls. Sometimes I might commission an artist to make something. Sometimes it’ll be a work in our collection that already exists. For the pieces that are currently in the gallery, I picked some pieces that already existed in our collection and built a show around them.

“[For instance], I started with ‘Reparations Now’ … [and] ‘School of Beauty, School of Culture.’ Then I included [pieces from] Amy Sherald, [who was commissioned to paint the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery]. [Then I added the] Angela Davis [piece], and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, these don’t make any sense together.’ Then I thought, ‘What are these really about?’ Even though it’s not always apparent, Amy Sherald’s [‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’] looks like a portrait and is a portrait, but it’s also about childhood, who we see as children, and, as a society, what we are protecting these children from—that is labor, often invisible labor.”

Click to view slideshow.

African, Native-American and Pre-Columbian

The BMA’s African, Native American, and Pre-Columbian galleries are on the second floor. Art from the pre-Columbian era line the walls, along with sculptures, paintings, and traditional clothing from that era. Farther down, the African and Native American galleries feature similar works, as well as head masks and a section of African ceramics.

“The African ceramics … are pretty new. We acquired a big collection of 403 African pots, so we decided to open a brand new gallery dedicated to just that art form,” said Emily Hanna, PhD, senior curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas. “It’s really beautiful. People love to just stop, sit, and watch the video [of African women making pottery] in that section.”

The BMA has about 2,000 works of African art, which is much more than what’s on display. Because the collection is so large, Hanna changes the gallery out about every six months or so. She does the same with the pre-Columbian and Native American galleries.

“Anything that is fabric, works on paper, anything that is light-sensitive has to be changed out often. You just can’t leave them out [because they] will fade,” said Hanna. “Some of our galleries don’t change out; the things that change are for special exhibitions. In my galleries, I try to keep things moving. I have enough textiles that if you come every three to four months, you’re going to see something different.”

Hanna considers visitors who haven’t seen these types of work before and how they can connect to them.

“People might have preconceptions about [certain works] if they haven’t had the chance to visit, so you have a really short opportunity to capture people’s interests and get them to read a label if they wander in,” she said. “Maybe they’re interested in the way something looks, but think about it: How much time will you give a label or really take to learn something?

“That’s the challenge: to create an installation that will attract someone to look at and learn about something. A lot of people who saw [the movie] ‘Black Panther’ are now very interested in textiles, costumes, clothing, architecture, and Afro-futurism. [We offer] a window for people to come in and see if what we have here is what they saw in the film.”

The Birmingham Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from noon until 5 p.m. For more information, call 205-254-2565; visit www.artsbma.org; or follow on Facebook @Birmingham Museum of Art and on Twitter and Instagram @Bhammuseum.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

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Recently Approved Budget Plan Favors Wealthy, Slashes Aid to Low-Income Americans

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts

Published

1 week ago

March 21, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

The new budget framework approved by Congress may result in sweeping changes to the federal safety net and tax code. The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts. A new analysis from Yale University’s Budget Lab shows the proposals in the House’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution would lead to a drop in after-tax-and-transfer income for the poorest households while significantly boosting revenue for the wealthiest Americans. Last month, Congress passed its Concurrent Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2025 (H. Con. Res. 14), setting revenue and spending targets for the next decade. The resolution outlines $1.5 trillion in gross spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax reductions between FY2025 and FY2034, along with $500 billion in unspecified deficit reduction.

Congressional Committees have now been instructed to identify policy changes that align with these goals. Three of the most impactful committees—Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means—have been tasked with proposing major changes. The Agriculture Committee is charged with finding $230 billion in savings, likely through changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Energy and Commerce must deliver $880 billion in savings, likely through Medicaid reductions. Meanwhile, the Ways and Means Committee must craft tax changes totaling no more than $4.5 trillion in new deficits, most likely through extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Although the resolution does not specify precise changes, reports suggest lawmakers are eyeing steep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid benefits while seeking to make permanent tax provisions that primarily benefit high-income individuals and corporations.

To examine the potential real-world impact, Yale’s Budget Lab modeled four policy changes that align with the resolution’s goals:

A 30 percent across-the-board cut in SNAP funding.
A 15 percent cut in Medicaid funding.
Permanent extension of the individual and estate tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Permanent extension of business tax provisions including 100% bonus depreciation, expense of R&D, and relaxed limits on interest deductions.

Yale researchers determined that the combined effect of these policies would reduce the after-tax-and-transfer income of the bottom 20 percent of earners by 5 percent in the calendar year 2026. Households in the middle would see a modest 0.6 percent gain. However, the top five percent of earners would experience a 3 percent increase in their after-tax-and-transfer income.

Moreover, the analysis concluded that more than 100 percent of the net fiscal benefit from these changes would go to households in the top 20 percent of the income distribution. This happens because lower-income groups would lose more in government benefits than they would gain from any tax cuts. At the same time, high-income households would enjoy significant tax reductions with little or no loss in benefits.

“These results indicate a shift in resources away from low-income tax units toward those with higher incomes,” the Budget Lab report states. “In particular, making the TCJA provisions permanent for high earners while reducing spending on SNAP and Medicaid leads to a regressive overall effect.” The report notes that policymakers have floated a range of options to reduce SNAP and Medicaid outlays, such as lowering per-beneficiary benefits or tightening eligibility rules. While the Budget Lab did not assess each proposal individually, the modeling assumes legislation consistent with the resolution’s instructions. “The burden of deficit reduction would fall largely on those least able to bear it,” the report concluded.

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A Threat to Pre-emptive Pardons

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process.

Published

1 week ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

President Trump is working to undo the traditional presidential pardon powers by questioning the Biden administration’s pre-emptive pardons issued just days before January 20, 2025. President Trump is seeking retribution against the January 6th House Select Committee. The Trump Justice Department has been tasked to find loopholes to overturn the pardons that could lead to legal battles for the Republican and Democratic nine-member committee. Legal scholars and those closely familiar with the pardon process worked with the Biden administration to ensure the preemptive pardons would stand against any retaliatory knocks from the incoming Trump administration. A source close to the Biden administration’s pardons said, in January 2025, “I think pardons are all valid. The power is unreviewable by the courts.”

However, today that same source had a different statement on the nuances of the new Trump pardon attack. That attack places questions about Biden’s use of an autopen for the pardons. The Trump argument is that Biden did not know who was pardoned as he did not sign the documents. Instead, the pardons were allegedly signed by an autopen. The same source close to the pardon issue said this week, “unless he [Trump] can prove Biden didn’t know what was being done in his name. All of this is in uncharted territory. “ Meanwhile, an autopen is used to make automatic or remote signatures. It has been used for decades by public figures and celebrities.

Months before the Biden pardon announcement, those in the Biden White House Counsel’s Office, staff, and the Justice Department were conferring tirelessly around the clock on who to pardon and how. The concern for the preemptive pardons was how to make them irrevocable in an unprecedented process. At one point in the lead-up to the preemptive pardon releases, it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process. President Trump began the threat of an investigation for the January 6th Select Committee during the Hill proceedings. Trump has threatened members with investigation or jail.

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Reaction to The Education EO

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking a higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college.

Published

1 week ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

There are plenty of negative reactions to President Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order abolishing the Department of Education. As Democrats call yesterday’s action performative, it would take an act of Congress for the Education Department to close permanently. “This blatantly unconstitutional executive order is just another piece of evidence that Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who is the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee. “By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education, which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated.’ I am adamantly opposed to this reckless action, said Rep. Bobby Scott who is the most senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson chimed in saying “I’m deeply concerned about efforts to shift federal oversight in education back to the states, particularly regarding equity, justice, and fairness. History has shown us what happens when states are left unchecked—Black and poor children are too often denied access to the high-quality education they deserve. In 1979 then President Jimmy Carter signed a law creating the Department of Education. Arne Duncan, former Obama Education Secretary, reminds us that both Democratic and Republican presidents have kept education a non-political issue until now. However, Duncan stressed Republican presidents have contributed greatly to moving education forward in this country.

During a CNN interview this week Duncan said during the Civil War President Abraham “Lincoln created the land grant system” for colleges like Tennessee State University. “President Ford brought in IDEA.” And “Nixon signed Pell Grants into law.” In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush which increased federal oversight of schools through standardized testing. Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college. Wilson details, “that 40 percent of all college students rely on Pell Grants and student loans.”

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) says this Trump action “impacts students pursuing higher education and threatens 26 million students across the country, taking billions away from their educational futures. Meanwhile, During the president’s speech in the East Room of the White House Thursday, Trump criticized Baltimore City, and its math test scores with critical words. Governor West Moore, who is opposed to the EO action, said about dismantling the Department of Education, “Leadership means lifting people up, not punching them down.”