Thursday, October 6, 2016

The Color Line - Buzz

The vernissage (opening reception) for The Color Line was held on Monday, October 3, 2016 at the Musée du quai Branly.


This long-awaited exhibition provides a magnificent lens through which visitors can simultanously regard the sad history of segregation in the United States and a cross section of the monumental body of work that African-American artists have produced in spite of and because of it.

The vast majority of works were borrowed from museums and private collections in the U.S. and there is considerable buzz about the exhibition because of this. Numerous people have traveled to Paris to see it as a result. The Quai Branly Museum, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Terra Foundation for American Art are among the organizations that have organized public events in celebration of the opening. Several private events were organized as well.

The Friends of Education of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in Manhattan sent a large group to Paris to attend the opening. They enjoyed a private reception at Galerie Intemporel, hosted by owner and independent curator Laurence Choko on Sunday evening, October 2. Distinguished guests included U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Crystal Nix-Hines and prominent African-American art collector Dr. Walter O. Evans.

Dr. Walter O. Evans, Laurence Choko, and Linda Evans
© Discover Paris!

Dr. Evans has loaned several works from his personal collection to the exhibition.

Several members of the Friends of Education of MoMA group enjoyed a private tour of Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse, a two-hour walking tour that explores the district where Delaney lived for most of his 26 years in Paris.

MoMA group on Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse walking tour
© Discover Paris!

Delaney's abstract portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, loaned by the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, hangs in the exhibition.

The Musée du quai Branly organized a pre-vernissage on Sunday, October 2 and a traditional vernissage on Monday, October 3. They have scheduled numerous events throughout the show's run through January 15, 2017.

The exhibition is rich, broad, and deep and will take several hours to see if you plan to do anything more than just walk through. I attended the opening reception on the evening of October 3 and can personally attest that this show is not to be missed!

The Color Line - collage
© Discover Paris!

Columbia Global Centers | Paris has organized a week-long series of events to coincide with the opening of the exhibition. Called "Race and Racism: Global Perspectives," it is being presented in partnership with the Columbia Masters Program in History and Literature in Paris. Attendees of the various events will enjoy music, dance, literature, and film. All events are free and open to the public. To register, click HERE.

The Terra Foundation of American Art has organized a dialogue between The Color Line's French curator, Daniel Soutif, and American scholar Richard J. Powell, who is the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art & Art History at Duke University. This event, which is also free and open to the public, will take place on October 10, 2016 at 6:00 PM. Registration is required - to sign up, send e-mail to .

Discover Paris! is offering private, guided individual and group tours of The Color Line in English. For more information, click HERE.

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2 comments:

Shelley Bradford Bell said...

I so wanted to be there!!! Thank you for always keeping us informed and educated about the things that tell Black Paris history. You are the best!

About Beauford Delaney said...

Thanks, Gypsy Soul Me!