PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Barnes Foundation is starting their summer programming with a bit of Miami heat. The museum will co-host a program featuring a Miami-born artist who has turned his focus to Philadelphia’s communities of color.
Mark Thomas Gibson moved to Philly from Miami just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. While there, his “This Life: Black Life in the Time of Now” exhibit — at the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora — garnered global recognition. Gibson now hopes to bring that same passion to Philly.
“Philadelphia is an amazing city as far as the Black community that exists in Philadelphia and the history of Philadelphia and its Black community,” Gibson said. “I’m very proud to be in this space to think and conceive what could a space be like for African American artists.”
With his upcoming “Artist Conversation” event at the Barnes on June 4, Gibson invites the public to come explore art’s impact on Philly’s Black community.
“As we move forward when thinking about 250 years of this country,” he asked, “what does that look like for Philadelphia as it develops?”
He also acknowledges how the voice of the art community can have a broad impact on city development, something he promises to address in his talk. “There’s so much construction and there are so many elements that come into play, financial elements in the city,” he said. “What does that mean?”
One thing Gibson has learned is how Philly’s tight-knit art community and communities of color are woven together.
“I’ve had to learn that this is a city of neighborhoods and sometimes just a city of blocks,” he said. “You don’t actually just get in. In Philadelphia, you have to live here and be in it with people.”