The August Wilson African American Cultural Center Announces MEMORIES & INSPIRATION: THE KERRY AND C. BETTY DAVIS COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center has announced Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, celebrating the passion of an ordinary couple who spent more than 35 years as devoted connoisseurs, building a collection of vivid artworks that are both resonant and remarkably personal. Memories & Inspiration is on view at The Claude Worthington Benedum Gallery from June 16, 2023 through August 25, 2023.

Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art presents 67 selected works from a body of art amassed over 35 years. Kerry, a retired mailman, and Betty, a former television news producer, gladly gave up many ordinary comforts in order to live with extraordinary paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures as their principal luxuries. Their collection includes works by Romare Bearden, Beverly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, Ernest T. Crichlow, Sam Gilliam, Loïs Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Alma Thomas, and Charles White, but Kerry and Betty do not search exclusively for well-known and/or documented artists. Rather, they focus on the more meaningful task of gathering and preserving a range of artistic approaches to the black image, in order to console the psyche and contribute to a more authentic articulation of the self.

The result is an eclectic gathering of pieces crossing different mediums, subjects, and styles by a group of artists of the African Diaspora who-in terms of training, experience, and expression-are strikingly diverse but unified in their use of cultural and historical narratives. As their collection has grown, so has the Davises' storehouse of memories of discovering new works of art, building friendships with artists, and conversing with museum professionals and other collectors in their home. Memories & Inspiration brings together an awe-inspiring selection of works, but it is their personal resonance-their connection to the Davises' hopes, passions, and everyday lives-that gives the collection its unique power.

Scheduled US tour dates for Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art are as follows: Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (January 24 - July 26, 2020); University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VA (August 19 - November 20, 2020); Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, FL (January 30 - April 4, 2021); Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT (May 29, 2021 - August 22, 2021); David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University (September 23, 2021 - December 22, 2021); Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV (March 12 - June 12, 2022); Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN (September 30, 2022 - January 8, 2023); Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH (February 4, 2023 - May 13, 2023); August Wilson African American Cultural Center (June 16, 2023 - September 1, 2023); Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA (September 30, 2023 - December 27, 2023); Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, Stillwater, OK (February 20, 2024 - May 11, 2024); Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA (June 8, 2024 - August 18, 2024); Sardoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA (September 13, 2024 - January 6, 2025); and Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS (February 3, 2025 - April 27, 2025).

Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art was organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Kerry Davis, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a former sergeant of the United States Air Force, a retired carrier with the United States Postal Service, and an ordained deacon. He began collecting in the mid-1980s in partnership with his wife, Betty, who shared his passion for art. Begun originally with the modest aim of enhancing the interior decor of their mid-century split-level home in suburban Atlanta, the Davises' collection has grown to over 300 works by some of the most distinguished African American artists of the twentieth century.

Inspired by previous generations of African American art collectors, who understood the importance of preserving cultural expression, memory, and imagery, Davis has sought to contribute to this legacy and be a source of inspiration for others in the community. The Davis residence-dubbed an "In-Home Museum" by visiting neighbors, parishioners, and friends-serves as a meeting place and cultural hub for artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts. Kerry and Betty have two children and one granddaughter.

International Arts & Artists in Washington, DC, is a nonprofit arts service organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally, through exhibitions, programs and services to artists, arts institutions, and the public. Visit ArtsandArtists.org

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural center located in Pittsburgh's cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today.

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