In “Reclaiming History,” now on view in the Edith Dee Cofrin Special Exhibitions Gallery at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR), Black Southern artists who emerged in the 1980s confront the unfinished work of America’s Civil Rights Movement. Rooted in the work of artists from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, such as Mary Lee Bendolph, Hawkins Bolden, Thornton Dial Sr., Lonnie Holley, Joe Minter, and Mary T. Smith, the exhibition traces a Southern lineage of resilience that continues to shape today’s social justice movements. Across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, the featured works brings to life how art can function as both witness and catalyst.
When I’m building exhibitions, I think in paragraphs rather than headlines. I want shows to unfold slowly, to make room for pauses, contradictions, and moments of intimacy.”
Daniel Fuller, Director of Curation at NCCHR
For Daniel Fuller, NCCHR’s director of curation, “Reclaiming History,” reflects a way of working he has refined over more than two decades.
“The throughline has always been a belief that art is most powerful when it’s rooted in lived experience and specific places,” Fuller said. “Whether I’m working with contemporary artists, writing essays, or curating within a civil rights institution, I’m drawn to practices that emerge from real conditions—social, historical, geographic—and speak back to them.”
A curatorial practice rooted in place
Some works in “Reclaiming History” convey their politics directly, while others use abstraction. Fuller regards this diversity as a strength.
“I’m less interested in spectacle for its own sake and more interested in depth, slowness, and trust,” he said, explaining that he trusts audiences to engage with complex ideas when they’re presented with care and clarity … Intellectual rigor doesn’t require obscurity, and accessibility doesn’t require simplification.”
Thinking in paragraphs, not headlines
Fuller’s curatorial eye draws heavily from his parallel life as a writer. Over the years, he has written for Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews, and Frieze, often focusing on overlooked artists and spaces.
“Writing has taught me how to listen—to artworks, to artists, and to spaces—and to build an argument through accumulation rather than declaration,” Fuller said. “When I’m building exhibitions, I think in paragraphs rather than headlines. I want shows to unfold slowly, to make room for pauses, contradictions, and moments of intimacy.”
Who museums are for now
Fuller’s work extends beyond gallery walls. As a teacher at Emory University, ongoing discussions with students inform his understanding of how ideas about art, history, and justice are changing.
“There’s far less patience for institutional neutrality,” Fuller said. “Students are asking who benefits, who is missing, and why certain narratives persist.”
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Those questions take on added weight as Atlanta prepares for increased international attention in the coming years.
Local history, global audience
In the lead up to 2026 FIFA World Cup, Fuller is deliberately reflecting on how local histories travel and on the responsibilities institutions like his carry. To his way of thinking, the coming global visibility reinforces the need for specificity in his work at NCCHR.
“The World Cup offers an opportunity to speak across borders,” Fuller said, “but it also demands honesty about local realities: labor, displacement, protest, joy, and collective identity.”
In “Reclaiming History,” that specificity remains visible: art rooted in Southern experience, presented with care, and given the space to speak on its own terms.