Portraits of African-American Mothers and Their Sons
The Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG), a creative center for emerging and professional artists, will present My Son Matters! an exhibition featuring the work of Denise Allen. The exhibition will run April 10 – May 31 with an opening reception on Friday, April 17 at 6 pm. Admission for the exhibition and opening is free.
Photographer Denise Allen was deeply impacted by the events in Ferguson, Missouri and the result is My Son Matters!.
“I am an African American single mother and I have a son,” she said. “I have always taught my son to be respectful and to do what is right. Now I realize that I also have to teach my son how to survive in a world where he will be treated differently because of the color of his skin. All across this country, this is the heartbreaking discussion black parents are having with their teenage kids — telling them that being black in America means they must watch how they dress, how they move, how they behave. It means beingn deferential to authority and suffering indignities in silence rather than face the risks of speaking out.”
My Son Matters is an exhibition consisting of 35 portraits of African-American single mothers and their sons with written declarations by those women. It elevates and honors the relationship between mothers and their sons, while shining a loving light on the young men whose existence is often stigmatized. Not only does this exhibit document the concerns and the struggles mothers go through to raise their sons, but it gives engaged mothers a platform to re-envision their sons’ images.
Images that have been and continue to be portrayed as negative and demeaning. Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG) is a nonprofit Arts Hub founded and driven by a dynamic group of professional artists. An incubator for both professional and emerging artists in Germantown, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill, we function as a resource center of creativity for artists, art lovers, and all those who seek to bring an eco-friendly and artistic sensibility to their lives. We are home to working artist studios, the Solomon Levy Gallery, artist-driven workshops and events, fine art and handcraft markets, and more.
At the end of the day, our goal is to provide communal space for artistic creativity, community collaborations, and celebration.
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