African American Art Alliance: A Support Group History

Margaret Andera, Interim Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the African American Art Alliance (AAAA), a support group of the Museum. Over its history, the group has assisted in funding the acquisition of numerous objects for the Museum’s collection.

The African American Art Alliance was formally established in 1990 by Dorothy Nelle Sanders, Lucinda J. Gordon, and Gloria Wright (all three are pictured here with Mildred Pollard, the Museum’s first African American docent). Together, these local women launched a group that continues to fund the acquisition of works by African American artists, host lectures, and sponsor events featuring notable artists, including Gordon Parks, Faith Ringgold, David Driskell, Lois Mailou Jones, Glenn Ligon, and Kehinde Wiley.

Additionally, AAAA provides support to bring exhibitions to the Museum. Among the exhibitions the group has supported in its thirty-year history are Recovering History: The Tradition of African American Quilting (1998), Class Pictures: Photographs by Dawoud Bey (2009), On Site: Chakaia Booker (2010–11), Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair (2015), Rashid Johnson: Hail We Now Sing Joy (2017), and most recently, Family Pictures (2018–19).

African American Art Acquisition Committee members Lucinda Gordon, Dorothy Nelle Sanders, Mildred Pollard, and Gloria Wright with Acapulco, a relief by Daniel Pressley, in 1991, at the first annual African American Art Acquisition dinner.

2020 AAAA Board Members

Jody Alexander

Cynthia Henry

Sande Robinson

Fran Serlin

Nancy Simuel

Learn more about AAAA and how you can join here: https://mam.org/involved/details/aaaa.php