New exhibition opening Friday at CU Art Museum created by socially engaged artists-in-residence to honor Black girls and women
Like the âMona Lisaâ whom she mirrors, âLona Misaâ is keeping her secrets. Her expression is unknowable, and a million thoughts could be swirling behind her calm eyes.
She is a testament to the growth and evolution of her young artist, Kiana Gatling of Denverâa recognition of talent and value, of being an artist whose work is deserving of gallery walls.
Von Ross (left) and Charlie Billingsley consider how best to display "Lona Misa" by Kiana Gatling.
Thatâs not always an easy evolution for women, and especially for Black women, says Charlie Billingsley, who recognizes the profound power in a woman declaring âI am worthy.â
âThatâs one of our goals here,â Billingsley explains, âto tell Black women, âWhat you create is good enough. What you create is amazing. You are amazing.ââ
The âhereâ is "We CU: A Visual Celebration of Black Womanhood, Presence, and Connectedness," a new exhibition opening with a celebration from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday at the University of Colorado Art Museum; it will be on view through July 13.ÌęâWe CUâ is created, curated and presented by Billingsley and Von Ross, founders of the in Denver and inaugural artists in the Socially Engaged Artists-In-Residence program created by the CU Art Museum and University Libraries.
âWhen we say, âWe see you,â what weâre saying to Black women is âwe see you beautiful,ââ Billingsley explains. âWe see you amazing. We see you talented. We see you courageous. Weâre saying to Black girls and Black women, âWe want you to see yourselves as we see you.ââ
âYou donât have to be what you seeâ
One afternoon last week, with the ingredients of the exhibit fully formed in their minds and on paper, but in progress throughout the exhibition space, Billingsley and Ross consider the âLona Misa.â Her 4-foot by 5-foot canvas is propped against a far wall and the two women stand chins on fists contemplating her.
When: 4:30-6:30Ìęp.m. Friday, Feb. 9
Where: CU Art Museum
âShe needs her own space,â Ross observes, and Billingsley nods.
âBut is that wall too big?â Billingsley asks, pointing to an expanse of blank-for-now wall, against which an assortment of empty frames lean. Some of the frames are very old and reminiscent of ones they came across in the University Libraries archivesâone of the many benefits of being artists in residence, Ross says.
âWe get to see all these amazing art works, go through the archives and have access to these collections,â Billingsley says. âAnd thatâs another thing we want to accomplish with âWe CU,â because a lot of times Black people donât have this kind of access, so we want to show people that they belong in these spaces.â
Billingsley and Ross are considering whether to hang âLona Misaâ by herself or to surround her with empty framesâthe frames being a motif that extends from the Museum for Black Girls.
âThe frames are empty because you donât have to conform to what society tells you (that) you should be,â Ross explains. âOftentimes, Black girls donât feel that the way they are is OK. They feel like they have to change, like they have to be different, so weâre saying that you donât have to be what you see.â
Charlie Billingsley (left) and Von Ross partner on creating the exhibit "We CU: A Visual Celebration of Black Womanhood, Presence, and Connectedness."
âWe honor youâ
The theme of authenticity runs through the exhibit, which Billingsley and Ross envision as a home. The various rooms and artifacts of home are represented âbecause home is where youâre your most authentic self,â Billingsley says. âYou donât have to talk a certain way or dress a certain way. With this exhibit, weâre inviting you into our homes.â
Against one wall, thereâs a low green couch encased in plastic, because itâs the good couch and the plastic is how you keep it from getting dirty, Ross says. Against another wall is a salon chair with a clear plastic dryer hood, the kind under which many women have spent many hours.
âAs Black women, these are the artifacts of our lives,â Ross says. âWe want there to be that recognition and we want to say that these things have value. They matter.â
The exhibition highlights words and quotations that contextualize and exemplify the countless ways to be a Black woman in the world âand to show that words matter,â Billingsley says. âWe want to show how impactful words are on Black women.â
The flow of the exhibition will take visitors to a dining room, on which places are set for some of the many, many roles Black women fulfill, and then to a room filled with flowers.
âThatâs our âthank youâ to Black girls and women,â Billingsley says. âThis is our garden, and as they come through this is how we say, âWe honor you.ââ
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