By Markita C. Rowe
The University Galleries at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host a new art exhibition, “Common Roots: Many Branches.” The show, featuring more than 60 works, opens Monday, March 20, and runs through Friday, April 14, with a re-opening Friday, May 12, through Friday, July 28.
The 18 artists featured in the distinctive exhibition are current and former visual art faculty members and students who represent the National Alliance of Artists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (NAAHBCU). NAAHBCU is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) professional organization that educates and promotes artists and art programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Its mission is to bring art and art education to the forefront of member institutions and to keep those programs as institutional priorities for generations to come.
“‘Common Roots: Many Branches’ symbolizes the relationship between the professor and the student,” who connect through their common roots, and a desire to explore life through the arts,” said Peggy Blood, Ph.D., NAAHBCU president and professor of fine arts at Savannah State University. “Their relationship is synonymous with a growing tree that forms many branches and then creates a new fruit that gives life to the next generation to begin anew.”
“Common Roots” became a touring exhibition after a successful show in Wilmington, North Carolina in January 2022, with N.C. A&T selected as an exhibition location on the tour. Roy Carter, associate professor and director of the A&T visual arts program, noted the touring exhibition demonstrates the importance of having a space for challenging conversations on campuses and communities, while focusing on social theories, policies, and behaviors that impact the lives on and off the campuses of HBCUs.
HBCU institutions represented in the exhibition along with A&T are:
- Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama
- Benedict College, Columbia, South Carolina
- Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio
- Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia
- Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, Mississippi
- Morris Brown College, Atlanta
- Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia
- Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas
- Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas
- Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia
- University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
“Our galleries are an extension of the educational spaces on campus and within the community,” said Carter. “We encourage everyone to come and take advantage of this enriching opportunity.”
The University Galleries are open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays by appointment. Exhibitions are free and open to the public and group tours are welcome.
