THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD REIMAGINED

THE PENSACOLA MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS

THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD, REIMAGINED

by Anna Wall, Pensacola Museum of Arts Chief Curator images courtesy of the Artists

Leah Gordon Vagabondaj Mawon: Sitadel, 2019

his fall, the Pensacola Museum of

Art will present two exhibitions that explore 19th century struggles for freedom through

contemporary art. Both projects ask artists with ties to Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean communities to respond to historical events through a 21st century lens. The exhibitions position events, like the Haitian Revolution, not as finite moments in the past, but rather as part of a continual striving for Black freedom and social justice across the Americas.

On September 24, the Pensacola Museum of Art opened The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined on the second floor of the Jefferson Street museum. The exhibition was originally shown in 2019 at the Little Haiti Cultural Center of Miami. The show was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier’s historical novel, The Kingdom of This World. First published in 1949, Carpentier’s stunning narrative recounts the Haitian Revolution, occurring between 1791-1804, and its profound impact across social strata in the emergent Caribbean nation. Carpentier used the novel to introduce his innovative literary style, which became known as lo real maravilloso— the marvelous real. In this influential form, fact and fiction become convincingly intertwined,

THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD, REIMAGINED

forming new worlds that convey essential truths through extraordinary events. In Carpentier’s own words, “What is the history of America if not a chronicle of the marvelous real?”

For the exhibition, an international cohort of artists, each with ties to the Caribbean, responds to this question via a dynamic grouping of artworks that interpret the historical chronicling of the Caribbean through visual—and certainly marvelous—means. Carpentier’s narrative thus becomes a formal and historical point of departure to explore the ways in which the region’s past—with its long history of subjugation, resistance and rebellion—asserts itself in the present.

Developed by Edouard Duval Carrié in collaboration with Lesley Wolff, the exhibition reflects the real and imagined events in Carpentier’s book.

“The work by these eleven outstanding artists excites me greatly, not only because the art is beautiful—and it is!—but also because these artists are true stewards of Caribbean history and heritage. Their work tells stories—and not just one story, but many,” Exhibition Curator, Lesley Wolff said.

The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined will be on view until January 9, 2022 and the exhibit’s curator believes

Maggie Steber Haitian Boy (Ti Noël as Ti jou d’lan), 2019 Digital print “The work by these eleven outstanding artists excites me greatly, not only because the art is beautiful—and it is!—but also because these

artists are true stewards of Caribbean history and heritage. Their work tells stories—and not just one story, but many.”

this exhibition is especially important to residents of Florida, where Caribbean influences run deep.

“As someone who has lived in both the Panhandle and South Florida, I am so grateful to the PMA for bringing this exhibition, and the work of these eleven extraordinary artists, to Pensacola. Florida is tied to the Caribbean in many ways, and I firmly believe in the importance of seeing those ties reflected in the arts of this region,” Wolff continues.

Several of the artists featured in The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined will also have work on display in the PMA’s other fall exhibition, Visionary Aponte: Art & Black Freedom. Opening on October 22, this show takes as its inspiration an extraordinary—and now lost—historical artifact: a so-called

Edouard Duval-Carrié The Kingdom of This World, 2017 Etching on Plexiglas

José Bedia Wayom Lemond (The Kingdom of This World), 2021 Mixed media on amate paper with chair, whip and paquet congo

“book of paintings.” Its creator was José Antonio Aponte, a free black carpenter, artist and former soldier who was also the leader of an ambitious antislavery conspiracy in Cuba in 1812. During his trial, Aponte was forced to provide testimony describing each of the pictures in his book. They portrayed a wide array of subject matter, from Biblical scenes to landscapes to episodes in the history of Africa, Europe and the Americas. Using those descriptions, more than a dozen contemporary artists have reimagined Aponte’s book for our present, inviting us to think about the role of art and history in making social change.

Visionary Aponte: Art & Black Freedom also originated at the Little Haiti Cultural Center of Miami. The exhibition traveled to New York University, Duke University, Santiago de Cuba, Havana and Vanderbilt University before arriving in Pensacola. The exhibition will be on view until March 27, 2022 with additional programming opportunities this winter.

On October 8 at 2 pm, the PMA will be hosting a virtual panel discussion that examines the historical events and processes in the Caribbean that continue to be persistent and relevant to the idea of social justice today. Moderated by The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined curator Lesley Wolff, the virtual event brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars from across the country. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information about The Pensacola Museum of Art, these exhibitions or upcoming programs, head to pensacolamuseum.org.

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Where: Pensacola Museum of Art When: through January, 9, 2022 Info: pensacolamuseum.org

Revolutionary Ripples: Caribbean History, Contemporary Art Oct. 8, 2 pm • Virtual Program

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined, this virtual program brings together an interdisciplinary panel of experts on Caribbean visual art, literature, and history to discuss the ways in which historical events and processes in the Caribbean continue to be persistent and relevant to the idea of social justice today, particularly in Afro-diasporic communities. This program is free and open to the public.

Artist Talk Sept. 24, 6 pm to 7 pm

Curator Lesley A. Wolff, PhD, and the HaitianAmerican artist, Edouard Duval-Carrié, discuss the exhibition The Kingdom of This World, Reimagined. This event is free with limited seating; registration required.