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Framing the individual artworks in the exhibition are the ideas of three influential 20th-century cultural and political movements—Garveyism, Négritude, and Quilombismo—that offer competing visions of a Black Planet, all of them premised on a great contrast with the world we all inhabit today. Further exhibition spaces in Project a Black Planet spotlight debates around Blackness, inner life, political and psychological agitation, and the role of ancestors and spirituality. The center of the exhibition, meanwhile, turns around an extensive display of books, magazines, record albums, and ephemera which have helped circulate ideas of resistance and self-invention worldwide since the early 20th century. Together this expansive presentation—artworks from across the globe in nearly every media—prompts questions and invites visitors to grapple with and participate in Pan-Africanism’s calls for equality and social transformation. Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica is curated by Antawan I. Byrd, associate curator of Photography and Media, Art Institute of Chicago, and assistant professor of Art History, Northwestern University; Elvira Dyangani Ose, director, Museu d’art contemporani de Barcelona; Adom Getachew, Professor of Political Science and Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity, University of Chicago; and Matthew S. Witkovsky, vice president for strategic art initiatives and Sandor Chair of Photography and Media, Art Institute of Chicago. SPONSORS Major support for Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica is provided by The Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, Hilary and Gidon Cohen, Anita Blanchard and Martin Nesbitt, the Artworkers Retirement Society, the Council for Canadian American Relations, The Opatrny Family Foundation, the Lewis and Susan Manilow Fund, and Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson. Seed funding has been provided by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (EHTF). Additional support is provided by the Guimarães Rosa Institute from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. Additional research funding has been contributed by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Members of the Luminary Trust provide annual leadership support for the museum’s operations, including exhibition development, conservation and collection care, and educational programming. The Luminary Trust includes an anonymous donor, Karen Gray-Krehbiel and John Krehbiel, Jr., Kenneth C. Griffin, the Harris Family Foundation in memory of Bette and Neison Harris, Josef and Margot Lakonishok, Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff, Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel, Cari and Michael J. Sacks, and the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Foundation.

EmbraceRace Since 2016, EmbraceRace has supported parents, guardians, educators, and other caregivers working to raise children who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race so that U.S. multiracial democracy can thrive. EmbraceRace identifies, organizes, and creates the tools, resources, discussion spaces, and networks to: Nurture resilience and joy in children of color Nurture inclusive, empathetic children of all stripes Raise kids who think critically about race and racial inequality Support a movement of kid and adult racial justice advocates for all children About the Mead x Drawing Differences Partnership EmbraceRace was founded by Amherst residents, Melissa Giraud and Andrew Grant-Thomas, who generously invited Mead Art Museum educators to join in early piloting of the Drawing Differences curriculum alongside EmbraceRace’s senior research-to-practice program manager, Christina Rucinski and children’s librarian, Mia Cabana at the Jones Public Library in 2023. Mead staff were deeply inspired and intrigued by the themes and questions that Drawing Difference raises about art, as well as its experiential pedagogy, and these intersecting goals led to the exhibition. The full curriculum is available for free at EmbraceRace Drawing Differences.

Musicians, songwriters, and producers Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys have stood as giants in the global cultural landscape for decades. As collectors, the Deans have lived their ethos...