When visitors walk into “Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts, and the National Black Arts Festival,” opening July 18 at Hammonds House Museum, they’ll encounter a dynamic cross-section of work by artists who helped define Atlanta’s Black cultural renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s.
Co-curated by artist and art historian Dr. Amalia Amaki and Anne Collins Smith, curator of collections at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the exhibition draws from the permanent collections of Hammonds House Museum and the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF). Together, the works trace how NBAF nurtured generations of artists, institutions, and audiences, while showcasing how the festival continues to shape Atlanta’s creative identity.
Founded in 1987, NBAF quickly became a national platform for Black visual artists, commissioning new works, staging major exhibitions, and expanding public access to African Diaspora art. Many of the artists featured in “Black Zeitgeist, “ including Faith Ringgold, Charles White, and Lynn Marshall Linnemeier, were championed by the festival’s early programs and collector networks.
Amaki and Smith approach the exhibition as both curators and cultural historians, positioning it as a tribute to the artist-scholars, institutions, and civic forces that helped define Atlanta’s creative legacy and set a national standard. Among those honored: Atlanta-based writer, critic, educator, and arts advocate Dr. Richard A. Long.
Scholar, Connector, Catalyst
Known widely as one of the world’s foremost Chaucer scholars, Long’s intellectual curiosity extended far beyond medieval literature. Over five decades, he became one of the most respected voices in African American cultural studies.
Long arrived in Atlanta in the early 1970s, first joining Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), where he founded the Center for African and African American Studies. Later, he became the Atticus Haygood Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Emory University. There, he directed more than 30 dissertations and taught courses that blended literature, visual art, music, and philosophy. His home near the West End doubled as both salon and syllabus, hosting figures such as Maya Angelou and Romare Bearden, while introducing students to his personal art collection.
“Several Atlanta collectors developed an interest in Romare Bearden’s work after encountering him at Dr. Long’s home,” said Black Zeitgeist co-curator Dr. Amalia Amaki. “That kind of access changed careers.”
Outside his immediate circle, Long played a pivotal role in shaping Atlanta’s broader cultural infrastructure. As a founding board member of the National Black Arts Festival, his vision and advocacy helped position the festival as a national model for celebrating Black artistic excellence across various disciplines, including visual art.
For Halima Taha, artistic chair at Hammonds House Museum, Long’s essays and lectures helped reinforce her belief in the power of abstraction.
“Dr. Long’s intellectual rigor and his celebration of Black creativity gave my own curatorial mission greater depth and purpose,” said Taha. “He validated the idea that abstract art by African American artists could—and should—be understood as a powerful cultural statement, much like jazz music.”
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A Curated Continuum
Long’s influence—alongside that of educator Jenelsie Walden Holloway, poet and activist Alice Lovelace, and pioneering collector Paul R. Jones—serves as part of the broader story of the work on view. Each figure shaped the intellectual, activist, and institutional foundations of Atlanta’s Black arts ecosystem in the late 20th century.
“The throughline between [Long’s] work and this exhibition is clear, ” said Taha. “Black Zeitgeist” draws on the institutional legacies he helped build, including the National Black Arts Festival and the Center for African and African American Studies at Atlanta University.”
Still, the exhibition’s emphasis remains firmly on the artists. Visitors will find work by Wadsworth Jarrell, a co-founder of AfriCOBRA known for bright, political imagery. They’ll also encounter Kojo Griffin, whose paintings blend pop-cultural motifs and historical commentary. Rounded out by pieces from Samella Lewis, Charles White, Lynn Marshall Linnemeier, and others, “Black Zeitgeist” invites visitors to engage with the art and stories of these creators.
“The exhibition centers on their creative achievements, innovations, and the ways they shaped Atlanta’s visual arts scene during this pivotal era,” said Taha.
If You Go
🖼 Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts, and the National Black Arts Festival
📍 Hammonds House Museum | 503 Peeples Street SW, Atlanta
📅 July 18 – December 14, 2025
🎟 Opening Reception: Friday, July 18, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
