Sun 3/23-Sun 8/17
Karamu House is mostly known today as one of the country’s foremost presenters of Black theater. Founded in 1915 as a settlement house, it soon became a hub for interracial theater, producing plays by artists such as the young poet Langston Hughes. But in the 1930s, it also started a printmaking workshop where members, including Hughes, could experiment with diverse printmaking techniques and themes related to Back life. A 1942 travelling exhibition in 1942 gave this community some national recognition.
Starting this week, it will get recognition at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s new show, Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. It offers an in-depth look at the work created by the Karamu artists and situates them in the American art scene of the 30s and 40s.
The show includes more than 60 prints created at Karamu, drawn from both the museum’s own collection and loans, by artists such as Elmer W. Brown, Hughie Lee-Smith, Charles Sallée, and William E. Smith. It emphasizes how these artists were drawn to printmaking because it was accessible and affordable, giving them a means to channel their visions into art without a lot of obstacles.
“Karamu Artists Inc. was one of the most influential collectives of Black printmakers in the 1930s and 1940s,” says Curator of Prints and Drawings Britany Salsbury in the show’s press release. “Although the group is mentioned frequently in histories of the Works Progress Administration and the Harlem Renaissance, its members’ accomplishments deserve substantive attention, and we are thrilled to partner with Karamu House to shed new light on their work. Their pioneering vision of printmaking as a means of connecting artists with communities is more relevant today than ever.”
The show is free and will be on view through Sunday August 17 in the James and Hanna Bartlett Prints and Drawings Galleries.
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