Artist Panel: Magic, Mirth, and Mortality: Musings on Black Motherhood

Writer and curator Shawana Brooks and visual artists Marsha Hatcher, Cheryl McCain, and Tatiana Phoenix will discuss their work included in the exhibition, “Magic, Mirth, and Mortality: Musings on Black Motherhood,” on view at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center and the St. Augustine Historical Society’s Tovar House from April 1 – 30, 2022.

The exhibition “Magic, Mirth, and Mortality: Musings on Black Motherhood” and related programming is a collaborative project between the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum (CEAM), St. Augustine Historical Society (SAHS), and the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center (LMCC). Originally organized by Hope McMath at Yellow House in Jacksonville, “Magic, Mirth and Mortality” is inspired by the lived experiences of writer, curator, wife, and mother Shawana Brooks, and celebrates the resilience of Black mothers through the lens of visual and literary art, and historical and archival objects. Centered on Brooks’ during her pregnancy and the premature birth of her son Roosevelt, the “musings” are shown alongside artwork by Cheryl McCain, Marsha Hatcher, and Tatiana Kitchen, supplemented with local and national statistics on infant and maternal mortality rates, inequity in healthcare access, and institutional bias against Black women.