Over 35 years, Hammonds House Museum has mounted more than 170 exhibitions, engaged hundreds of artists, and presented a countless number of public lectures, film screenings, conversations, readings, performances, and educational programs. Those seeking inspiration, intellectual stimulation, engagement and access to culture from across the African Diaspora have found themselves at home at Hammonds House. In an age when arts institutions of color are disappearing from communities across the country, the museum is excited to celebrate this significant milestone.
Hammonds House Museum continues its 35th anniversary celebration into the Fall with the closing of one provocative exhibition, Histories and Others, by award winning Haitian artist Edouard Duval Carrié and the opening of another, Foundations and Futures, curated by Former Hammonds House Museum Executive Director Edward Spriggs, former Hammonds House Museum Curator Kevin Sipp, and emerging artist Abiosa Spriggs. Foundations and Futures showcases and highlights the history of significant artists who have exhibited at the institution and are amplifying contemporary visual culture in the African Diaspora. Histories and Others closes on October 1, 2023. Foundations and Futures opens on Friday, October 20, 2023 and closes the Hammonds House 35th Anniversary exhibition season on December 17, 2023.
What’s an Anniversary celebration without an opportunity for people to come together? Each anniversary year, the Hammonds House Museum hosts The Gathering, a weekend filled with art, legacy, remembering the past and looking toward the future. The Gathering provides an important opportunity for artists, patrons and members of the museum to collectively come together in celebration and to support the on-going work of the museum. The tradition continues.
● The Gathering 2023 kicks off on Friday, November 3 with a concert to benefit Hammonds House Museum by 6X Grammy nominated husband and wife duo The Baylor Project at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center on the campus of Morehouse College at 8:00 PM. In addition to an evening of amazing and masterful performance, there will be a silent auction, an opportunity to win a fine art print by one of Atlanta’s critically acclaimed visual artists and VIP meet and greet with The Baylors. Pre-reception at 7:00 PM.
● On Saturday, November 4 the party moves to the theater in the newly renovated Atlanta Central Library at 1 Margaret Mitchell Square in downtown Atlanta with A Celebration of Artists. As the museum considered who to honor this year there was a departure from honoring a few to recognizing ALL of the artists who have exhibited at the museum and contributed to the organization’s legacy. The festivities kick off at 6:00 PM with a pre-reception. Program begins at 7:00 PM.
A series of public programs and community events round out the season. September and October programs are listed below. Visit hammondshouse.org for more information.
HHM NIGHT OUT! Salsa with Quic and Sheba De la Selva-Rojas
Monday, September 11, 2023 | 6:30pm - 8pm
HHM NIGHT OUT! YO!ga - A Hip Hop Vibe (Yoga and a movie)
Thursday, September 21, 2023 | 6pm - 9pm
An evening of hip hop themed yoga followed by classic hip hop film, Brown Sugar.
DOPE! An Evening celebrating Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary (and the art that surrounds it) Friday, September 22, 2023 | 6:30pm - 9pm
Black Love Is Revolutionary
Black Love Is Revolutionary is a site specific interactive performance developed by Roni Nicole Henderson and Cedric Umoja. The performance will engage the audience in movements meant to challenge the historically violent undertones of revolution by recentering black love as an elemental aspect of change-making.
Friday and Saturday, October 6 & 7, 2023
Hammonds House Museum Pop-Up Market and Porch Performance
October 8th, 2023 | 1:00pm to 8:00pm The Hammonds House Museum Pop-Up Market series supports artisans and increases awareness of emerging Black businesses in Atlanta. The October Pop-Up is held in collaboration with the Praise House Project and West End’s long running community event Music In the Park Atlanta.
Porch Performance: THE RETURN with Toni Blackman and Bideew Bou Bess from Senegal
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of hip-hop, the Praise House Project presents internationally renowned emcee, Toni Blackman, joined by Senegalese hip-hop artists, Bideew Bou Bess, made up of brothers Moctar Sall, Baidy Sall and Ibrahima Sall for a special front porch performance. Blackman and Bideew Bou Bess will mix traditional Senegalese music, world music and hip-hop to demonstrate its worldwide impact and cultural origins, the emcee as the griot and the cypher as an iteration of the Ring Shout. For more info visit PraiseHouseProject.org