SAGINAW, MI — Creativity, collaboration, and friendship are three important components of art, and especially of the 68 pieces currently on exhibition at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. David Driskell (1931-2020) was an artist in every sense of the word, both as a creator and an admirer. According to the museum, David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship “encapsulates Driskell’s legacy, artistry, and authority in the African American Art Field.”
Countless artists are featured, including Driskell himself, Richard Mayhew, Lois Mailou Jones, Margo Humphrey, Eldzier Cortor, Alma Thomas, and many more. This curation demonstrates the crucial role an artist’s community plays in their artistic expression. Viewers of the exhibition will witness a wide range of mediums, styles, and methods of creation; from gouache and lithography, to sculpture and collage. Societal and cultural topics are discussed in some pieces, while others are deeply personal.
The exhibition opened on Oct. 12 with a ceremony held at the museum followed by a talk by Heather Nickels, a Doctoral student in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. Nickels elaborated on the significance of the collaborative spirit for artistic communities, particularly communities of color, stating that Black artists have historically “created ways to support one another when the powers-that-be have not.”
Also that evening, President of Saginaw Valley State University, Dr. George Grant, Jr. spoke to the crowd gathered in the museum, saying that the university is “always passionate about humanities and the arts,” and highlighting the important role art plays on campus.
This exhibition is organized by the Driskell Center at the University of Maryland and supported by both the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and Huntington. David C. Driskell & Friends will be at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum until Feb. 21, 2025.
