IAAM’s “middle of somewhere” puts Black makers where American art begins

The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston opened a new special exhibition on Saturday, February 7, 2026: middle of somewhere: the art and legacy of Black Southern makers. On view through Sunday, February 14, 2027, the exhibition reframes the rural American South as a diasporic hub of artistry and design, placing Black makers at the center of how American material culture formed, traveled, and evolved.

A phrase reclaimed into a thesis

middle of somewhere takes a familiar dismissal and turns it into a clear position: overlooked places hold major artistic intelligence. Curated by Martina M. Morale, IAAM’s Director of Curatorial and Special Exhibitions, the show centers Black artists rooted in and influenced by rural Southern life, where creativity often emerged through necessity, community knowledge, and inherited technique.

Materials that carry history in their hands

The exhibition moves across quilts, sweetgrass baskets, ceramics, ironwork, and handmade furniture to show how function and beauty traveled together. These works carry stories of skill, labor, innovation, and survival, along with a rigorous design language that shaped what many people recognize as Southern visual culture.

A central throughline is the material and aesthetic connection between African American artistic traditions and West African visual languages. The exhibition highlights techniques including weaving, coiling, carving, and patterning to trace how diasporic knowledge crossed the Atlantic, took root in new landscapes, and stayed alive through generational transmission.

Three conversations in one gallery

IAAM groups the exhibition’s artists and makers into a set of conversations that move across time, each one anchoring Black Southern making as a foundational American story.

• Historical mastery includes the stoneware of David Drake (Dave the Potter), the furniture and architectural elegance of Thomas Day, and the ironwork of Charleston master blacksmith Philip Simmons.
• Living traditions include the Gee’s Bend Quilters, featuring “Equal Justice” (2020) by Essie Bendolph Pettway, alongside the intergenerational Gullah Geechee sweetgrass artistry of Dionne and Delores Jones.
• Contemporary innovation includes Danielle Williams’ “Bantu Knot” sculptural vases, Stephen Burks’ globally informed design language, Norman Teague’s community-rooted furniture, and the legacy of Charleston blacksmithing carried through the work of Carlton Simmons.

Designed for wonder, then respect

IAAM describes the exhibition as an emotional journey that begins with visual impact and deepens into social and economic context. Visitors can engage with a digital “Design Your Own Quilt Block” kiosk and gallery prompts that connect the exhibition to everyday life, guiding viewers to notice how ordinary objects can hold family history, artistry, and memory.

The museum also emphasizes the exhibition’s intentional lower-case styling as part of a value statement: makers remain the focus, and the work stays closer to the communities and hands that shaped it.

Plan your visit

middle of somewhere: the art and legacy of Black Southern makers is on view at the International African American Museum, 14 Wharfside Street, Charleston, South Carolina. IAAM’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with last entry at 4:00 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Support and sponsors

The exhibition is supported by Major Sponsor Gail and Tim Hughes, Contributing Sponsors Carol H. Fishman and Carolyn Hunter Heyward, and a gift from Denny’s made in honor of Brenda Lauderback’s dedication to IAAM.