Right:

Among the artists represented in the exhibition are Lonnie Holley, creator of a celebrated sculptural environment at his home in Birmingham, Alabama; James "Son" Thomas of Mississippi, famous both as a blues musician and an artist; Bessie Harvey of Tennessee, whose sculptures were included in the 1995 Whitney Biennial; Archie Byron, who has been successful in Atlanta not only as an artist but as an entrepreneur and political leader; and several members of Alabama's extraordinary Dial family, led by Thornton Dial Sr., affording a survey of the relations within this Alabama dynasty of artists.

Testimony is organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and by Exhibitions International, New York. The AXA Gallery is sponsored by AXA Financial and its subsidiary The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Additional assistance has been provided by AXA Art Insurance Corporation.

According to Howard Dodson, Chief of the Schomburg Center, "Most African-Americans are descended from people who lived in the South," Mr. Dodson notes, "It's where we come from, the roots. And yet the conventional interpretation of the African-American experience has tended to elevate to the status of heroism those individuals who left the South and moved North. What of those who decided to stay, who chose to claim that part of America as their own? They are worthy of as much celebration, understanding, and appreciation as those who were the scouts. By exhibiting the remarkable artworks in Testimony, we hope to affirm the continuing integrity of those individuals who struggled with the contradictions of the South and made of the South a very different place from what it had been. By paying tribute to their courage—their commitment to family and community, their experience in understanding the overall African-American experience."

"This exhibition shows how the creative impulse is inherent in the human experience," Howard Dodson says. "No matter how much oppression and exploitation people undergo, that creative impulse will find a way to emerge through song, through dance, through religion, through art. Again, if you look at the trajectory of African-American visual arts, the individuals who were recognized were those who migrated to the North. But there were many others who stood their ground and fashioned art out of the resources—and indeed lack of resources—of the South, and they, too, need to be understood and appreciated and made accessible to the public."

The Shelps began to form their collection in the wake of a meeting with art collector and art dealer Bill Arnett in June 1988. Through Arnett, they acquired their first works in this genre in March 1989: 40 pieces by 20 artists. As their passion for these artworks grew, so did the collection, some of which was installed in the offices of the New York City Partnership, of which Mr. Shelp was the President and Chief Executive Officer. After Mr. Shelp left the Partnership in 1993, he and his wife continued to collect avidly; they have donated major pieces to the Hirshhorn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of American Folk Art and the Newark Museum.

According to Ronald Shelp, who with his wife June assembled the collection from which the exhibition is selected, "We were drawn to this art because we feel it is dramatic, moving, and wide-ranging. You find everything in it from tough, forceful portraits and icons to symbolic narratives to subtle abstractions. But, equally important, this art has a message that speaks to June and me, as Southerners. Even the most abstract of these works tells us something about what the world looks like through the eyes of people who grew up in the segregated South and lived through the civil rights movement and the turbulent times that followed."

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library is recognized as one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world. The Harlem-based research library collects, preserves, and provides access to information and resources essential for documenting the history and culture of people of African descent worldwide. The Center's collections number more than 5 million items, including more than 3.5 million manuscripts, 150,000 volumes, 20,000 artworks and artifacts, and 500,000 photographs. The Center also houses rich collections of periodicals, films, videotapes, audio recordings and memorabilia. Through its exhibitions, education programs and public events, the Center seeks to foster an understanding of significant issues and themes of the global black experience.

Exhibitions International, a non-profit traveling exhibition service for museums, organizes and circulates art exhibitions on a wide variety of subjects, with a focus on the decorative arts and design. Its mission, to organize exhibitions of high aesthetic quality that respond to the needs of museums, is fulfilled with the guidance of an Advisory Council, an international roster of museum directors and curators, which reviews all potential exhibitions. To serve the educational needs of museums, a variety of educational materials are developed to accompany each exhibition.

AXA Gallery presents works from all fields of the visual arts, with a special emphasis placed on exhibitions that would not otherwise have a presence in the city. The AXA Gallery is located in the atrium lobby of Equitable Tower, 787 Seventh Avenue at 51st Street, in New York City. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11am - 6pm, and Saturday, noon to 5pm. The Gallery is closed on Sundays. Admission is free.

For reproductions and further information, please contact:
Pari Stave
Vice President and Director
AXA Gallery
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Telephone: 212-554-1704
Fax: 212-554-2456
E-mail: pari.stave@axacs.com