Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Gainesville, Virginia
This historic church (founded in 1877) was nearly entirely destroyed by arson in 2012 and restoration has been a lengthy process. The congregation has been displaced before. In 1882, to clear a path for a new roadway, the church was dismantled and rebuilt at its present location. There the as-yet uninhabitable building sits waiting to be restored. More about the history of the church and the congregation can be found here. Donations are being accepted here.
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery
A nonprofit on Minneapolis’ North Side, the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery is a space doing great work to capture the history, successes, and struggles of African American life in Minnesota. While you await the re-opening of their latest exhibit, Unbreakable: Celebrating the Resilience of African Americans in Minnesota, and programming, consider becoming a member or donating to their organization.
Juxtaposition Arts, Minneapolis
This North Side nonprofit is multifaceted, providing training and classes in the arts to teens and young adults, and hosting shows of work by national and international artist in its gallery space throughout the year. Their signature Move the Crowd events are part-art exhibition and art sale, featuring music and live presentations. The next Move the Crowd event (the 25th annual), is scheduled for July 31 and will be hosted online. Consider answering their call for support here.
African American Literature Book Club; Black Owned Bookstores
Digital destinations are great resources unto themselves, but there is little in this world that exceeds the value of a real book! We should all support independent book sellers, so we are fortunate to have the ALLBC’s list of Black-Owned Bookstores as a guide. A tip to find those nearest you; hold down the command + f (Mac) or ctrl + f (Windows) keys and type in your state’s abbreviation; this will bring you to results in your area quickly!
We are also fortunate that there is no shortage of material to read; of particular interest to those who read ANTIQUES and have an eye to history might be: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen, and The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.
Black Artists and Designers Guild
For those starting or continuing projects in the arts, architecture, or work on a historic (or not!) home; the Black Artists and Designers Guild directory is an invaluable resource. Finding and connecting with artists, makers, and designers is a sometimes-overwhelming process, and the directory helps to make it a bit easier. Should you need to find professionals in architecture, ceramics, interior design, fine art, furniture, or textiles, start here.
Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, England
As lovers of “curious objects” and history ourselves, the Objects of North Devon series on YouTube really made us smile. Each video offers a quirky take on items from the small museum’s collections of local historical material. Video-portraits of community members – like lifetime resident Greta Greenslade – are another means by which the museum records local history. Explore their website and the other videos on their YouTube channel for more.
The Frick Collection, New York
We’ve highlighted the Frick’s “Cocktails with a Curator” and other online offerings before; but if you’ve missed their Virtual Exhibitions along the way, be sure to add them to your list. Each of the exhibitions has text descriptions, some video content, and many include a virtual tour of the exhibition as it appeared in the Frick at the time of installation.
Among the virtual exhibitions, readers may recognize Bertoldo di Giovanni: The Renaissance of Scultpture in Medici Florence from James Gardner’s piece in our Nov/Dec 2019 issue of ANTIQUES. If you were unable to visit the exhibition at the time or if you simply want to revisit it, the virtual exhibition is incredibly comprehensive. The virtual tour alone is impressive, but the accompanying audio tour and comprehensive object list make this a strong recreation of the physical exhibition experience.
