A new focus exhibition at the Hope College Kruizenga Art Museum showcases artworks by African American artists, and features 20 works from the museum’s collection of African American art.
The exhibition has been scheduled in conjunction with national Black History Month (February) but is running for most of the college’s spring semester. It opened on Friday, Jan. 17, and will continue through Saturday, April 25.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The Kruizenga Museum’s African American art collection has grown slowly but steadily since the museum acquired its first work by an African American artist — “Jamming at Minton’s” by Romare Bearden — in 2014. Today the collection includes works by luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance generation, including Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Lois Mailou Jones. There are also works by important younger artist such as Willie Cole, Kara Walker and Rashid Johnson.
The goal of the focus exhibition “African American Art from the Kruizenga Museum Collection” is to promote awareness of the collection in the Hope College, Holland and West Michigan communities. “By national or even regional standards, the Kruizenga Museum’s collection of African American art is still quite modest,” stated museum director Charles Mason. “However, the museum plans to continue to add to the collection in the future, and we would like to see the collection used for learning and teaching by students, faculty and other members of our community”
Public visiting hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please check the museum’s website or social media for additional information about “African American Art from the Kruizenga Museum Collection.”
The museum functions as an educational resource for Hope College and the greater West Michigan community. The museum features two public galleries as well as a classroom and climate-controlled storage space for its 4,500-object permanent collection. It is named in honor of a leadership gift from Dr. Richard and the late Margaret Kruizenga of Holland, both of whom graduated from Hope in 1952.
The Kruizenga Art Museum is located at 271 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.