AHHA!
Artistry, Honesty, Healing Action!
Nationally known Black Twin Cities artists, Donald Walker, Beverly Tipton Hammond, Kennedy Simpson, and Drew Hammond, invite you to see firsthand the art inspired by their lived experience. Join us to view and reflect on their work and to engage in transformative conversations and activities. Their incredible works of art will move you and inspire a deeper connection of community.
AHHA!’s mission is to bridge the widening racial gulf between cities and suburbs. More specifically, they seek to build bridges of honest dialogue, mutual understanding and collaborative activism between people of color of Minneapolis/St. Paul and the lighter skinned residents of locales such as Woodbury, White Bear Lake, Prior Lake, Edina, Minnetonka, and Hopkins.
A. Drew Hammond
"The intent of my art is to invoke conversations and induce thought. In this climate of misinformation, inequality, and legislative marginalizing of the African America community, it is imperative that my art unapologetically reflect the current state of Minnesota and our nation, for the purpose of forward progression and progressive equality. My participation with the AHHA! Collective here at White Bear Center for the Arts is to give white Americans a much needed boost to spark conversations about race amongst themselves; a conversation that has been historically repudiated."
Determination Nonetheless, 2022, mixed media, $900
"Is it an inherited strength or the fortitude strands in our DNA that give us the power of perseverance? Two things can be true! Since 1619, African Americans have been fighting for the equality variables that the United States Constitutional claim exists. And fighting we shall continue to do until America is cured of her evilness and soul sicknesses. The only time I have never encountered racism in my 58 years of living was during the TWO WEEKS I SPENT ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT."
Melon Colony, 2022, acrylic, NFS
"Many years ago, I cut open a watermelon and the alignment of the seeds were all too familiar. The seeds reminded me of my enslaved ancestors in the hull of slave ships crossing the Atlantic. Since it was a memory that I have never forgotten, I decided to share that thought physically. The inhumane conditions on those ships were the worst in human history: rape, decapitation, being forced-fed rotten food, laying on their backs chained, blistering, countless deaths alongside the living. Urine and waste covered the bow of the ships. It’s no wonder some of my ancestors opted to jump ship. I can only imagine their thoughts of what was to come that could be worse than being on those ships."
The United States Bitter Crop, 2022, mixed media, $375
"Though bittersweet, we are all the better (consciously) for Billie Holiday seeing those lynched African Americans when she toured the south. What was equally sickening is how the United States Government came after her for singing about that encounter of evilness she witnessed first-hand. Holiday was jailed, blacklisted, and banned just because of ugly truths that America did not want revealed and still do not. Ironically, the Civil War was all about slavery and the dismantling of it, yet the Government opted to silence Holiday."
The Son Who Started a Movement, 2021, ink and gel pens, NFS
"In 1955, Carolyn Bryant said she was physically accosted by a fourteen-year-old named, Emmet Till. Emmet was abducted, tortured, shot in the head, tied to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire and thrown in the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. Ms. Mamie Till (Emmet’s Mother) wanted an open casket so the world could see what those racists did to her son. In 2007, Carolyn Bryant confessed that Emmet did not do it. The death of Emmet Till sparked what is known as the 'Civil Rights Movement.'”
Kennedy Simpson
Kennedy Simpson is an artist and Graphic Designer from Minnesota. She has been inspired by her suburban upbringing as a person of color as well as her experiences with anxiety, both of which have encouraged her to pursue art into adulthood. Kennedy will describe herself as more of a thinker than an artist, and focuses on creating work that will provoke viewers with new perspectives through the use of multiple mediums and bold messaging.
Let Freedom Wring, screen print, prints available in the Ann Tousely Luther Art Shop at WBCA
"Let Freedom Wring was imagined in 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Symbols have always been interesting to me – it’s fascinating how simple illustrations and words can be so easily recognized and associated with such strong and varied emotions. I was introduced to the Gadsden Flag during a high school history class where it was presented to me as a symbol for American freedom and pride. My first intent was to exhibit the infamous yellow snake in unison with the Black Power fist until further research and understanding of how many right-wing groups use it to represent their independence."
White Washed, screen print, framed, $600
“I seemed to run swiftly up an incline and shot forward with sudden acceleration into a wet blast of black emptiness that was somehow a bath of whiteness.” - Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man, Random House, Inc., 1952.
"The inspiration for this illustration comes from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, a novel that analyzes a black man’s effort to survive in 1950s America. I first read this novel in high school and instantly gravitate towards the narrator’s emotional struggles, as many of mine resembled his. I enjoy symbolism and used a combination of digital and physical elements to support and bedizen the final piece. Initial concepting for this illustration was created with Adobe Illustrator in 2019 when I was a digital media art student at Hamline University. Originally, White Washed was created as an alternate book cover for an assignment."
NOT TARGET PRACTICE, digital illustration, $350
"Your persona as a Black American is established in an instance: you are violent, you are aggressive, you are incoherent, you are an intruder. To be a person of color is to be consistently depreciated by people that do not see you with radiance. I AM NOT A CRIME and NOT TARGET PRACTICE were illustrated in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Initial sketches for these illustrations were constructed quickly – after seeing the mass response from communities across Minnesota and the United States (and lack there of in others). My grievance and bewilderment was used to create these visuals."
I AM NOT A CRIME, digital illustration, $350
Beverly Tipton Hammond
"Nina Simone once said, 'an artists’ duty is to reflect the times.' I believe this holds to be true no matter what category of artist you are. For me, I enjoy the process of creating. As a visual artist, singer, songwriter and choreographer I am blessed with these gifts to share with the world! I now find a great joy when my art speaks to an individual and touches their heart, causing them to ponder their beliefs and behavior. In this exhibit, sharing the struggle and pain caused by social injustice, we are giving the observer an opportunity to see the truth and find their personal path to reckoning with it. Racism and race relations in America must be dealt with in the heart. We are the family of humanity and I understand and believe that."
Descendants of Kings & Queens, acrylic, $2,100
"I learned recently through Ancestry Data Collection that I am 33% Nigerian. In this I take great pride. This painting reflects the lineage from which I come, a proud, creative, and resourceful people. As an artist, dancer, singer, minister and writer, I have been endowed with blessed gifts that flowed down to me from many generations past from the Motherland of Africa."
The Power of Worship Passed Down from Our Ancestors, acrylic, $700
"The power of God through and by His Spirit was and has always been the center and core of African Americans and our Ancestors in Africa! As slaves taken from their thrones, homes and families, faith was all there was to hold onto. Many chose to die in transit. Those that landed in this country clung to faith to survive. The Black Church in America has remained a hub and center for the communities in which we live. It was also where meetings were held to help organize during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s."
Collective Effort, acrylic, $600
Though symbolic, this piece speaks to the power of agreement and effort to come together and agree that there is a problem in America that is destroying the Nation! There is a denial that we are not all created equal! The denial does not change the reality that we are all the same. The Bible says, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Come now, let us reason[c] together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. -Isaiah 1:16-18
Donald Walker
Nationally known artist, Donald Walker, began his distinguished career as the first African American artist to work at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. At the time, Donald was one of only five African-American graphic designers in the United States working at a major newspaper. In 1982, Donald decided to go into business for himself. He teamed up with baseball great, Dave Winfield, and opened up two art galleries in the Twin Cities.
Rendezvous with Salvation, limited edition giclée on canvas, $1,800
"I want to create this kind of art history which shows what our ancestors were forced into as slaves, being promised salvation."
Just in Time, limited edition giclée on canvas, $1,200
"I was appointed by divine power to create this artwork to show how blessed we are to be able to have food on our table, while the rich birds cannot see that there is a shortage of food in the world."
Never Again, limited edition giclée on canvas, $1,500 and Uncompromising Harmony, mixed media on canvas $2,500 (top: left to right)
Picasso You Peeping Tom, mixed media, $1,500 (bottom)
AHHA!'s Statement (concluded)
Success in fulfilling their mission short term is to be measured by documenting the extent to which their efforts enrich and expand suburban public support for African Americans’ demands for justice.
Success in fulfilling their mission long term is to be measured by the success of racial justice projects undertaken by coalitions of White suburbanites and Black urbanites that work against racial bigotry and structural discrimination.
