[Music] Dela Wells is a self-taught Milwaukee artist who began drawing and painting at the age of 42 she's being honored on March 20th at the Milwaukee Art Museum and here to tell us about the event and her work are Tina Johnson president-elect of the African-American Art Collective and Dr Cana srant curator of the community dialogue for the Milwaukee Art Museum ladies welcome to Black new vot thanks thank you all right doctor we'll start with you uh just a question about Dela wells's work just what makes it so unique and special especially considering she's from Milwaukee I think if you've ever seen Del's work whether it's her her world famous dolls or her collages you know that her work is rooted in storytelling and folklore but it's also rooted in I think these black art Traditions from quilting to collage and it really showcases her imaginative worlds but I think central is that she's building these worlds to undo African-American stereotypes right and to really forward new narratives um and she does it through a way that feels accessible and fresh and it for those who might be scared of art with a capital A I feel like Del's work is definitely sometimes your first entry into understanding art and feeling like oh this feels like it reflects me so talk about that reflection and you know why is it so important for us to highlight and remember well for example the work of art that we're unveiling on March 20th is really one of those ways where it's a large piece right so it's one of the largest work she's done it's a collage so it's taking all these materials and putting them together and I think one of the central stories that Shan does is this myth of black families being single family homes right so at the center of the image is these two black figures who are caring for young black children and I think that's part of her work to undo all these stereotypes that people have of black black subjectivity and black life and Miss Tina I'll go to you now so talk about the African-American art Alliance and exactly the work that's being done to put on these Awards and highlight these artists well we're coming from a a long tradition that started in 1990 uh here in Milwaukee to um promote educate and acquire African-American art for the permanent collection of the art museum and how it started is is uh three women from from Milwaukee um um gathered together and decided that there wasn't enough art black art in in the art museum and just like other support groups of the art museum uh decided to band together and um fund raise and acquire pieces for the art museum so it's been around for 34 years been collecting for 34 years so when people visit the art museum they will see 34 years of um collecting and purchasing by people right here in the city you know Dollar by Dollar people right here in the city fundraising and uh collecting art beautiful beautiful so is the event just March 20th or are there going to be other days and other times to uh see Dela wells's work and the other things that you're doing so the celebration of Dela is March 20th and you can get more information at M do.org and the piece that uh Cana was refer referring to it's called together and that will only be seen on that day until it's permanently exhibit exhibited which will be late fall probably early next year so that's the one day to to see it all right and what were we going to say I was going to say one of the things I love about the museum too is our Digital Collection so if you want to see it and you you want to not wait to see it in person it's also available on m.org so I want people to know that's a free resource also to dig into our collection and see Del's work all the time but on the 20th when it's when it's unveiled you can actually see it not touch it but see it and Dela will explain what her her thought process when she was making it so I'm going to go back to the 34 years of work that's been done by the alliance uh just talk about why it's so important to highlight black artist and the the work that's being done uh by you to do that well it's important for us to see ourselves in these institutions and it's important for our children to see to see themselves in in these institutions um that it's not this Pie in the Sky um just white institution or or um only white people can make can make art or and black people can make make art but is stays at home these are um Blue Chip pieces that have been purchased by the African-American art Alliance and um even some upand cominging artists are on display at the museum that we've purchased so it's very important to keep that Legacy going and keep uh the community involved in what's going on at the Museum absolutely anything you want to add to that I would say that one of the amazing things that Quade does is that they have a range of black art that they've collected so in the same way that de Dela is not subscribing to one way of thinking about the black community I think qua doesn't subscribe to one way of thinking about black art there are works of art that are abstract so maybe they don't look like things you you see in everyday life there are works of art that are portraits and also I feel like you all are on the cusp always of collecting works that become pieces that are such Staples of our collection like other museums ask for them these are the pieces that are in history books and art history books and that really shape our cultural moment and I think Quade has really been at the cusp of pushing that and doing that work for the Milwaukee Museum as well guad I like that I got to use that acronym but okay so anything else that uh our our viewers out there need to know or that you'd like to share so much programming yeah I want to say March 20th is an opportunity to really highlight a local hero in our community but I don't want people to feel like that's your only time I don't want black people to feel like that's your only time and only invitation to come to the museum the museum is free for children 12 and under we have our new free day and celebration series that are quarterly that are really Community block parties and we also have our art by artists of the African diaspora tour that people can request always and so I want people to know that it is our Museum it is our community and we really want this to be an extension of your home amen thanks to you both for coming on black new Ville thank you thank you