TONY BINGHAM: MEMORIAL MEDITATIONS
February 28, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Opening on February 28, 2020, the Coleman Center for the Arts is pleased to present a solo exhibition of sculptures and photo-based work by Birmingham-based artist Tony Bingham.
Memorial Meditations pulls together objects that span nearly two decades of practice in Birmingham, the Black Belt region, and across the state.
Works in this exhibition bring together themes the artist has focused on in recent years including communion, convict labor, place, shared trauma, and “African American rural ways of memorializing.” Bingham’s research and resulting work explore communities and public space – sites of enslaved, extractive, or industrialized labor – throughout Alabama including Fairfield, Helena, Panola, Tannehill, and Titusville. Through his sculptures, large-scale photography, and found audio work, Bingham makes reference to unmarked burial sites and vernacular headstones and calls into question where, how, and who we collectively remember.
Memorial Mediations marks the relaunching of the Coleman Center’s exhibitions in its Altman Riddick Gallery at 608 Avenue A Street in York, Alabama. Forthcoming exhibitions include work from the Alabama Prison Art and Education Project and career retrospective of Laurel-based artist Michael Ross.
There will be an opening reception on the evening of Friday, February 28, 2020 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and an artist talk on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. There will be an additional artist talk and workshop during the run of the exhibition. The exhibition will close on Friday, May 22, 2020.
Memorial Meditations includes language that may be challenging to some audience members. Multi-disciplinary artist Tony M. Bingham lives and works in Birmingham, AL. Bingham received his B.A. in Communications from Antioch College, an MA in Film and Community Media fromGoddard College, and an MFA from Georgia State University. He has taught humanities, studio art, and art history at Spelman College, Kennesaw State University, and Jefferson State Community College. He was an artist-in-residencies at the Caversham Center for Artists and Writers in South Africa and the Cultural Alliance of Birmingham. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including Space One Eleven, Stephen Smith Fine Arts, and upcoming, collaborative work at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Bingham currently teaches humanities and studio art at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama.
For more information: 205.392.2005 / info@colemanarts.org / colemanarts.org