Terp Curates Art Gallery at African-American Museum

by Sala Levin ’10 | photo by John T. Consoli

Amid the Renoirs, Rothkos and Rockwells hanging in art museums, then-college student Tuliza Fleming M.A. ’97, Ph.D. ’07 noticed a conspicuous absence: artwork by women and people of color. “I asked my professor why that was, and she told me that curators make those decisions. I said to myself, ‘Well, I want to be a curator.’”

Now, as co-curator of visual art and the American experience at the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), Fleming has a high-profile platform from which to champion historically underrepresented artists.

As one of two curators tasked with creating an art gallery within the long-awaited, already-immensely popular NMAAHC, Fleming seeks to highlight “the diversity of styles, approaches, thought process and identity” among African-American artists in an accessible way.

“Art museums traditionally have been perceived as somewhat elitist,” she says. “I used to sit in the abstract gallery at my former museum and watch people go through, and you could see them get defensive. I didn’t want that to happen here.”

Not everyone who visits the NMAAHC, which opened on the National Mall in D.C. in September and had 733,000 visitors by the end of 2016, expects to discover a traditional art gallery within the history and culture museum. To reach visitors who might not ordinarily set foot in an art museum, Fleming collected works of art reflecting a wide range of styles—from abstract paintings to traditional landscape scenes—and subject matter, from African Americans in the military to discrimination in housing laws and regulations. Extended wall labels for each piece provide context and explanation.

Fleming’s passion for museums and art—and especially art created by African Americans—began early. Her father, John Fleming, was founding director of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. As a girl, Fleming took art courses at the Columbus College of Art and Design and later, at Spelman College, continued to study studio art but “felt unsure that I would make it as an artist, so I thought that going into art history would probably be the way for me—you can appreciate art without having to be fabulous at creating it.”

After hearing a talk by renowned artist and UMD art Professor Emeritus David Driskell, Fleming decided she was “going to be just like him. I went to the head of my department and asked, ‘Where does he teach?’ That’s why I decided to go to the University of Maryland.”

The museum’s connection to Driskell is more concrete, too: A painting by the artist, titled “Behold Thy Son” and depicting slain teenager Emmett Till being crucified, hangs in the gallery. Also on display is “Mothership (Capsule),” a sculpture by Jefferson Pinder ’94, MFA ’03 made partially of reclaimed wood from the platform at Barack Obama’s first presidential inauguration (above, rear left).

Amassing some 170 pieces for the gallery was no small feat. For nine and a half years, and on a modest budget, Fleming traveled around the country asking art owners to donate pieces—a task more daunting than any she faced during five years as associate curator and head of American art at the Dayton Art Institute.

“When I came here, I didn’t know a lot of people who collected art by African Americans, so I was starting from scratch. Many of our collectors were everyday people who saved their money—these are not inherited works. So it was really, really gratifying to be able to bring these works into our collection.”

Fleming hopes that the pieces will spark questions and reflection among both seasoned art lovers and novice gallery-goers—even if not every piece becomes a new favorite. “I never feel like a person has to like everything, but I do want people to think. I just want you to come out more enriched than you came in.”