Visitors to Miami Lakes Town Hall have an opportunity through March 3 to see an art exhibit that celebrates Black history.
The show describes experiences the organizer hopes visitors from other backgrounds will find relatable, too.
The exhibit of a dozen prints and framed literature is entitled, “One Way Ticket: Movement, Migrations and Liberty.”
It is inspired by poems collected in Langston Hughes’ 1946 book, “One-Way Ticket,” which was illustrated with ink drawings by Jacob Lawrence.
In addition to Lawrence’s drawings from the poetry book, two other pieces in the collection are on display: “Harlem” by Charles Henry Alston and “The Advocate” by Ernie Barnes.
The Barnes print, by a football player turned artist, shows an attorney with an athlete’s build going through legal texts. But look closely: Beneath the words “Duty” and “Hope,” the background has subtle reminders of oppression and resistance to it – landmark legal cases, jail bars, hands raised in prayer or cuffed.
The artworks are curated by Christopher Norwood, who oversees Hampton Art Lovers Gallery in Overtown.
He lives in Miami Lakes and is sharing his collection for the show. A version of the Town Hall exhibit was staged at the gallery in 2021.
Norwood called Hughes “the great poet.”
He said the book’s themes, including the Great Migration of 6 million Blacks from the American south that began around 1916 by people seeking work and civil rights in the north and west, are reflected in events today.
“[There] were doors opening up north for labor,” Norwood said. “It was also happening because people were escaping apartheid sort of conditions.”
While the exhibit reflects a time gone by, the stories remain relevant today because people are still migrating, Norwood said.
“When you read this poem, you can change [migration starting points] to Cuba and Venezuela … and people leaving conditions for whatever the reasons are,” Norwood said.
He hopes the art creates a connection between the African-American community and migrants of other nationalities and races.
“The more that we can understand that African-American history is also a history of migrants, I think that creates opportunities for connectivity,” Norwood said. “What we’re trying to do is create community, through the art that is on the wall.”
Five different plaques explain the exhibit and some of the individual pieces that are featured and also describe the artists. Norwood would like residents to take their time as they explore the 12 pieces that are on display around the lobby of Town Hall.
“When you read it, you understand what you’re seeing on the walls,” Norwood said.
If You Go
“One Way Ticket: Movement, Migrations and Liberty” can be viewed Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until March 3 at Miami Lakes Town Hall, 6001 Main St.
For more information on Norwood and Hampton Art Lovers Gallery, visit www.hamptonartlovers.com.