January 31 – February 18, 2017 at the Boyden Gallery, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

About the exhibit: Africa and the African Diaspora in Campus Collections features objects held in campus collections that are relevant to teaching and learning about Africa, the African Diaspora and African-American history, culture and experience. The exhibition features artwork, documents, publications and artifacts from the SMCM Fine Art Collection, Library and Archives and Historic St. Mary’s City as well as creative work by students and alumni affiliated with the Black Student Union.

The exhibit includes a collection of SMCM library books put together by Research & Instruction Librarian Pamela Mann.

About the book collection: “Revolution & Resistance: Making Art, Making Culture in the African American Diaspora.” Inspired by the objects in the exhibit the book collection puts texts and objects in conversation foregrounding the themes of representation, resistance and social justice. The monographs and art catalogs address identity formation, the invention and reinvention of Black culture and aesthetics, as a form or resistance; the limits of representation in American society and the art world; and the Arts (art, music, theater and literature) as a tool for transnational social justice in the African diaspora.