About Us
PERMANENT is a multidisciplinary art experience that takes works by African and African-American artists in museum permanent collections and brings them to life.
In times of social unrest throughout history, the arts have always served as a beacon of hope as well as an outlet for the expression of those things that are not so easily conveyed in words. Art by Black artists is especially engaged in this work, functioning as a breathing archive of themes of strength, resistance, and resilience. These themes are evidenced in the masterworks created by Black artists that live in museum permanent collections. However, these messages often fail to reach their intended audience in conventional presentations of the work.
Today many museums are struggling to undo decades-long practices that exclude or fail to consider the diverse experiences and needs of non-white audiences. The lingering effects of white supremacy continue to haunt the purported values of institutions as well as the communities they serve.
Introducing PERMANENT; a unique collaboration between The African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) and Komanse Dance Theatre. Permanent is an interdisciplinary art experience that activates works by African and African-American artists in museum permanent collections.
Through PERMANENT we aim to mitigate the disconnect between museums and the communities they serve by creating original art experiences and educational curriculums that provide new points of contact with contemporary art. We work with art objects by Black artists representing diverse disciplinary practices revealing crucial threads and themes that not only reflect the Black experience but are born from it.
Through PERMANENT, we take art “off the wall” and into the hearts and minds of communities long underserved by the arts.
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PARTNERS
HIGH MUSEUM OF ART
“Collaboration is deeply embedded in the High’s DNA. This partnership with ADAMA, Komanse and Orchestra Noir is an exciting, next level opportunity to dovetail incredible strengths and deliver something quite meaningful and compelling to our community. We’re proud to be a part of it.”
Rand Suffolk,
Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr., Director of the High Museum of Art