For Courtney Brooks, “Journey of a Black Girl” was never just an exhibition. It was an idea shaped by public art ambitions, pandemic pivots, and professional growth. Opening this month at CBROOKS Gallery inside The Upton, the show may be Brooks’s most complete expression yet as both artist and curator.
“This has been six years in the making,” Brooks said during a preview walkthrough of the show hours before opening night. “I’ve always wanted to do a physical art exhibition on this theme, but there was never a space that aligned with it.”
The exhibition that waited
The origins of “Journey of a Black Girl” date back to 2019–2020, when Brooks was named the inaugural Curator-in-Residence for Art on the Atlanta Beltline. Brooks initially conceived the project as a large-scale public art activation along the Southside Trail, complete with musical performances, a mural installation, a fashion show, and dance programming.
“Literally the day of the opening is when we went into quarantine,” Brooks said. “Everything we were supposed to do outside, we couldn’t do.”
While Brooks documented elements of the project digitally, the full vision remained unrealized. Over time, Brooks evolved “Journey of a Black Girl” into a broader movement, one that lived on social media, extended into merchandise, and continued as an idea Brooks carried with her as her career expanded.
“I want people to understand the importance that Black women—we never go out of style.There’s no place, no time that can define us.”
CBROOKS GALLERY OWNER COURTNEY BROOKS
From the Atlanta Beltline to CBROOKS Gallery
Now, fast forward to 2026, and that vision has found a home. Staged in Brooks’s CBROOKS Gallery, the exhibition brings together more than 40 Black women visual artists working across painting, photography, sculpture, collage, and mixed media. The exhibition includes artists who supported Brooks from the project’s earliest days, as well as newer voices.
“When I did the call, I personally invited each artist,” Brooks said. “I wanted to make sure I had the original crew of artists that supported me from day one.”
The show feels deeply personal to Brooks. It opened on her birthday, and its run coincides with a personal period of reflection on lineage, memory, and growth.
Portraiture throughout “Journey of a Black Girl” captures joy, intimacy, and generational connection. Credit: Sherri Daye Scott 
Sculpture and mixed-media works anchor one corner of CBROOKS Gallery, reflecting the range of practices featured in the exhibition. Credit: Sherri Daye Scott Credit: Sherri Daye Scott 
An installation near the gallery stairwell highlights the exhibition’s attention to ritual, care, and transformation. Credit: Sherri Daye Scott Credit: Sherri Daye Scott 
Figurative works explore memory, strength, and self-definition—recurring themes throughout the show. Credit: Sherri Daye Scott Credit: Sherri Daye Sctt
“I’m celebrating myself as well,” she said. “I wanted to be an artist when I was growing up, and I’m here doing it now.”
Centering joy, memory, and Black girlhood
Across the gallery, the work moves between intimate portraiture, symbolic figuration, and material storytelling. Together, these pieces offer entry points into Black girlhood and womanhood.
“I want people to feel joy,” Brooks said. “I want them to be brought back to a time where it was a happy moment—and that they can still create these moments with their daughters, cousins, sisters, and friends.”
Brooks asked artists to submit childhood photos, echoing the show’s message: “little girls with dreams become women with vision.”
“I want people to understand the importance that Black women—we never go out of style,” she said. “There’s no place, no time that can define us.”
In that sense, exhibition also reflects Brooks’ curatorial philosophy, shaped by years organizing shows and residencies across Atlanta. Since launching CBROOKS Gallery in June 2025, she has balanced personal narratives with collective experience in quarterly shows.
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“What I’ve learned is that people are hungry for new things,” Brooks said. “And they relate. I’m very open and intentional about the narratives or themes of the shows that I have. It’s always something I’m personally thinking through.”
In this way, “Journey of a Black Girl” feels more like a culmination than a single moment—a return to an idea that has grown with Brooks.
“To be able to do this in my own gallery,” she said, “that’s a blessing.”
“Journey of a Black Girl” remains on view at CBROOKS Gallery inside The Upton through March 27, 2026.