African American Museum is an American

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

located at 3536 Grand Avenue in

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The museum was founded in 1974 and has operated independently since 1979. The 7 million dollar structure which is now its home, was funded through private donations, and a 1985 Dallas city bond election, which provided 1.2 million towards its construction. The structure, built in the shape of a cross, is made of ivory-colored stone. Natural materials and design motifs are used throughout the museum in a manner reminiscent of pre-industrialized cultures of the African continent.

History

The African American Museum of Dallas was established in 1974 as a part of the Special Collections at

Bishop College Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...

, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

which closed in 1988. The Museum has operated independently since 1979. The $7 million edifice was funded through private donations and a 1985

City bond election that provided $1.2 million for the construction of the new facility. The Museum is the only one of its kind in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

devoted to the preservation and display of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

artistic, cultural and historical materials. It also boasts having one of the largest

Folk Art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

collections in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

The Museum's operators say they strive to present a meaningful experience to children and adults who do not normally visit art museums. The museum houses a rich heritage of

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

and history in four vaulted galleries that are augmented by a research library. The Museum's permanent collections include

African art African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, su ...

;

African American art African-American art is a broad term describing visual art created by African Americans — Americans who also identify as Black. The range of art they have created, and are continuing to create, over more than two centuries is as varied as the ...

; magazine, historical, political, and community archives. Visitors can also experience

African American culture African-American culture refers to the contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential on Ameri ...

through many educational and entertaining programs that are frequently presented in an "educational plaza", which includes a theater and classrooms.

Collections

The current museum building occupies virtually the same site as the Texas Centennial Exposition's Hall of Negro Life. It boasts a permanent collection that consists of the works of such highly regarded African American artists as

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City a ...

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", although by his own ...

Larry D. Alexander Larry Dell Alexander (born May 30, 1953) is an American artist, Christian author and Catechist from Dermott, Arkansas in Chicot County. Alexander is best known for his creations of elaborate colorful, and black & white "pen and ink" drawings in ...

John T. Biggers John Thomas Biggers (April 13, 1924 – January 25, 2001) was an African-American muralist who came to prominence after the Harlem Renaissance and toward the end of World War II. Biggers created works critical of racial and economic injustice. He ...

Clementine Hunter Clementine Hunter (pronounced Clementeen) (late December 1886 or early January 1887 – January 1, 1988) was a self-taught Black folk artist from the Cane River region of Louisiana, who lived and worked on Melrose Plantation. Hunter was born ...

Benny Andrews Benny Andrews (November 13, 1930 – November 10, 2006) was an African-American artist, activist and educator. Born in Plainview, Georgia, Andrews earned a BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1958, and soon after m ...

Edward Mitchell Bannister Edward Mitchell Bannister (November 2, 1828January 9, 1901) was an oil painter of the American Barbizon school. Born in Canada, he spent his adult life in New England in the United States. There, along with his wife Christiana Carteaux Bannist ...

, and

Arthello Beck Arthello Beck Jr. (July 17, 1941 – November 5, 2004) was an American artist. He often painted scenes of places he had visited, using a variety of mediums, including oils, watercolors, and charcoal. Beck was born in Dallas, Texas, and attende ...

References

External links

African American Museum Official Website
{{authority control Museums in Dallas Art museums and galleries in Texas Art museums established in 1974 Arts in Dallas 1974 establishments in Texas African-American museums in Texas Fair Park

History

Collections

Further reading

References

External links