A new art exhibition, “I GOT A STORY TO TELL,” celebrating Black womanhood and storytelling through the works of four talented Black female artists, has opened at Industry City.

Running from Feb. 1 to March 8, the exhibition honors Black History Month and marks the gallery debut of artists Blu Murphy, Brittney S. Price, Kaylyn Webster, and Lex Marie.

Curated by Tatianna Mack, the art liaison for Tanya Weddemire Gallery, the exhibit is a personal project inspired by Mack’s conversations with her maternal grandmother, Etta Mack Johnson, and her reflections on identity, resilience and community.

This inaugural curation for Mack centers on love, pride and the rich complexities of Black women’s identities. According to the exhibit description, each piece is “a testament to the power of art as a vessel for preserving and amplifying the voices of Black women across generations.”

The show opens with a striking installation by Blu Murphy, an educator and artist whose work is heavily influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and activist Ruby Bridges. Murphy’s piece features a school desk that invites viewers to sit and write their own stories, creating an interactive experience that bridges past and present.

For Mack, the exhibition is the culmination of a long and emotional journey. “It’s been a long time coming, but to see my vision come to life has been very surreal for me,” she said. “I’m super excited about how everything turned out.”

The idea for the exhibit took root during conversations with her grandmother about her life growing up in Brooklyn and her great-grandmother’s migration from South Carolina during the Great Migration — the period from about 1916 to 1970 that saw over 6 million Black Americans relocate from the rural South to urban places in Northern and Western states.

“It made me think about all of the Black women, how we are put into boxes sometimes, how they label us a certain way, but we’re much more than those boxes that they put us in,” Mack explained.

Mack began assembling the exhibition in September, but its meaning deepened after the 2024 presidential election.

“Seeing Kamala [Harris] be so qualified in all of these things and people still ridiculed her, still made her feel like she was less than no matter what she did,” Mack said. “That also made me feel like, yes, it doesn’t matter what Black women do. We are the most educated, [we hold] the most degrees, and we are still othered. I really felt like even more that this show had to come to life because I needed people to see that Black women are much more than what they say we are.”

Mack acknowledged the challenges of the current moment, describing it as “very scary.” However, she remains hopeful, drawing strength from her family’s history.

“I know that my ancestors and my family are fighters,” she said. “We’ve been through it before, we got through it before, and we’re gonna get through it again. We just have to make sure that we are relying on community, building community, making sure that we are looking out for each other.”

When asked what she hopes visitors take away from the exhibit, Mack emphasized resilience and self-determination. “No matter what box that they try to put you in, no matter what people may think of you, you can do whatever it is that you can do,” she said.

“I GOT A STORY TO TELL “is on view at the Tanya Weddemire Gallery in Industry City’s Building 2 through March 8, 2025. For more information, visit tanyaweddemiregallery.org.

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