HOUSTON (October 24, 2019) – Prairie View A&M University’s Northwest Houston Center (NWHC) has a new, unique, and inspiring art exhibit on display.

“The Things We Are Not Allowed To Express…” is a collection of work from Houston-area artists Lesley Marie Diaz, Miri Teresa, Schetauna Powell, Lauren Janelle, Snater George, as well as internationally-known illustrator Afrua Richardson who is best known for her work in the award-winning Marvel Comic series “Black Panther World of Wakanda.”

“When I came up with the idea for the exhibition, we

[local black artists] were talking about how a lot of our work was being rejected from art spaces,” Powell said. “It was only until recently that black science fiction and Afrofuturism started to really be considered as fine art.”

The exhibit is the second installation of an ongoing collaboration between the NWHC’s Executive Director Tyrone Tanner, Ed.D., the John B. Coleman Library with Distance Services Librarian Elizabeth Brumfield, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMACC).

HMACC’s Chief Executive Officer John Guess Jr. says the latest exhibit is part of their mission to have a more significant impact on the community. “We can’t just be a museum in a building. So, we decided last year that we need to take art to other places and venues. And, one of the best places we could think of was Prairie View and the Northwest Center.”

According to Brumfield, the curated art is more than just visually appealing. “The exhibit examines literature, technology, film, and art as social constructs,” she said.

The exhibition, which runs through Dec. 17, is a part of the Black Speculative Art Movement (BSAM). The pieces included will be featured in BSAM Conference 2020, which will be hosted by the HMAAC in February.

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By Michael Douglas