Sept. 23, 2024

Jim Crow Museum’s Bruce Davidson photographs in Fine Art Gallery exhibit illustrate ‘Time of Change’

The resources of the Jim Crow Museum afford Ferris State University Fine Art Gallery provides historical and social perspectives through the “Time of Change” exhibit that runs through Friday, Sept. 27.

Fine Art Gallery Director Carrie Weis said renowned civil rights photographer Bruce Davidson’s imagery is supplanted by pictures intentionally incorporated in this Jim Crow Museum traveling exhibit.

“Along with Davidson’s civil rights imagery, the exhibit displays 14 contemporary images taken across the country during protests that arose after 2012 for the unfair treatment and deadly incidences committed against people of color,” Weis said. “It is important that the art gallery be a space that promotes critical thinking, inspiration and reflection, and diverse perspectives. ‘Time of Change’ does all these things while showcasing the impact of protest and advocacy in challenging systemic racism and how those actions have and continue to contribute to social change.”

Jim Crow Museum Director David Pilgrim, Ferris State’s Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Strategic Initiatives, said Freedom Riders in 1961 and Black Lives Matter protestors in 2020 were significant movements joined by their resistance against systemic racism.

“The exhibit demonstrates the continuity of the struggle for racial justice, showing that while progress has been made, the fight for equality and justice persists across generations,” Pilgrim said. “It underscores that activism remains vital in confronting ongoing social injustices. “The ‘Time of Change’ exhibit is another example of the Jim Crow Museum living out its ideals: ‘Witness, Understand, Heal.’”

The Fine Art Gallery is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the upper level of the David L. Eisler Center, 805 Campus Drive.