ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The Albany Museum of Art (AMA) announced their new summer exhibitions – In Conversation: Will Wilson; Her Ladyship, Countess of Cumakala; and Hues of Skin and Earth made their debut on May 15.

In Conversation: Will Wilson is headlining the summer exhibition and will be featured in the Haley Gallery, according to the museum. Her Ladyship, Countess of Cumakala by South African artist Buqaqawuli Nobakada will open in the East and Hodges galleries, AMA said. Hues of Skin and Earth by Atlanta artist Jamele Wright, Sr. will be in the McCormack Gallery.

“This is a landmark moment for the Albany Museum of Art as we proudly present the work of three visionary, cutting-edge artists — Wilson, Nobakada and Wright — whose bold and brilliant creations challenge convention and reframe how we see Indigenous North Americans, Black Women and Black Americans,” AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf, Ph.D., said.

These exhibits will be on display through until Saturday, August 16, according to the museum.

AMA provided a description of each exhibit.

In Conversation: Will Wilson by Will Wilson

In Conversation: Will Wilson brings into dialogue the contemporary works by the Diné (Navajo) photographer through his ongoing Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange, or CIPX, project with those of photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952), who dedicated more than 30 years of his life to documenting over 75 Indigenous North American groups.

Wilson’s photography is created in full collaboration with the individuals he photographs. This collaborative spirit contrasts with Curtis, who often provided props and suggested sitters wear their finest clothing or ceremonial attire despite posing for everyday tasks to create romantic archetypes. Such depictions of Native Americans have lingered in the American consciousness for decades and have not allowed much room for Indigenous groups to reclaim any agency in how they want to be depicted. Wilson’s goal is to change that.

Wilson also brings his photographs into the 21st century by utilizing Augmented Reality (AR) technology to make some of his tintypes “talk.” By downloading the free app Talking Tintypes, which was developed by Wilson, AMA visitors can experience a new depth to these select tintypes and feel like they, too, are a part of the conversation.

Her Ladyship, Countess of Cumakala by Buqaqawuli Nobakada

In Her Ladyship, Countess of Cumakala, Nobakada brings out the beauty in womanhood and sisterhood through her lace paper artworks and Black feminist perspective. The artist calls this practice, “performative visuality,” noting the meticulous care that goes into make-up, hair styling, and clothing choices Black women make. Nobakada considers beauty as an element of luxury, sexual liberation and confidence.

Hues of Skin and Earth by Jamele Wright, Sr.

Wright is the awardee of the AMA’s inaugural open-call search for Georgia-based artists for a solo exhibition. The jury selected his work out of the nearly two dozen submissions.

His exhibition, Hues of Skin and Earth, offers an immersive and imaginative experience bringing about memories, feelings, and experiences interconnected with color, shape and form. When creating the body of work on exhibit, the artist was inspired by the notion of brown artwork and paintings being unpopular or undesired. In breaking the color down into reds, oranges, yellows, blues and greens, Wright rethinks color associations and hue, placing his body of work in conversation with classical depictions of landscapes from the Hudson River School, to the visual world of Technicolor in film from the early-mid 20th century.

To learn more about the exhibitions, visit www.albanymuseum.com.

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