PRAISE SHADOWS ANNOUNCES TWO INSTITUTIONAL ACQUISITIONS FOR WORKS BY HELINA METAFERIA

Praise Shadows is pleased to announce two important museum acquisitions for works by Helina Metaferia, both originating from the artist’s 2022 solo exhibition at the gallery, All Put Together. Crown (After Empress Menen) has been acquired for the collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. Headdress 34 has been acquired for the Tufts University Permanent Art Collection.

According to Tammi Lawson, Curator of Arts and Artifact Division at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “I am pleased that we were able to acquire Helina Metaferia’s Crown (After Empress Menen), 2022, for the Schomburg’s Art and Artifacts Division. I love it that Metaferia’s work is rooted in archives and the history of activism. Her work aligns with my own strategic plan, to make visible the work of Black women artists throughout the Diaspora.”

Dina Deitsch, Director and Chief Curator of the Tufts University Art Galleries remarked on their landmark acquisition: “We are so proud to welcome Helina Metaferia’s Headdress 34 into the Tufts University Permanent Art Collection as the inaugural acquisition of our newly formed TUAG Acquisition Committee (TAC). TAC was formed by a group of supporters dedicated to diversifying and growing our collection with the most powerful voices of artists today to effectively reflect our campus community. An alumna of the SMFA, Helina brings together social activism, performance, and deep archival research in her practice that, quite literally, makes community. Headdress 34 was, in fact, made within the school—developed from workshops with students and faculty, photographed by Alonso Nichols (SMFA MFA’22), and, of course, featuring Marla McLeod (SMFA MFA’20). We could not imagine another work that would better reflect the people, ideals, and work of our campus.”

The exhibition catalogue for All Put Together can be viewed here. A version of the exhibition is on view at the Bolinas Museum, California, through August 6, 2022.