Ming Smith: August Moon
Columbus Museum of Art
Located in Gallery 5
On view September 19, 2024–May 2025
Admission Information
Ming Smith: August Moon is included with the cost of general admission.
Members get FREE admission.
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Exhibition Description
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is proud to present Ming Smith: August Moon, an exhibition where the essence of everyday Black life unfolds with breathtaking honesty and reverence. Smith embarks on a poignant journey through the streets of Pittsburgh’s Hill District, intimately familiarizing herself with the landscape that inspired playwright August Wilson’s iconic “Century Cycle” plays. Smith captures the essence of Wilson’s characters, immortalizing their struggles, triumphs, and the quiet resilience that defines their existence.
Smith’s upbringing in a literary family fostered an immediate affinity for Wilson’s subtle metaphors and characters, many of whom mirrored the people she knew from her own childhood. With her deliberate use of blurred imagery and obscured details, Smith creates a visual language that reflects the complexities of Black life in America, inviting viewers to see beyond the surface.
Through her photographs, Smith documents the fortitude and fragility of Black communities, built amidst the challenges of Jim Crow laws, redlining, and everyday racism. As Smith traverses the streets of the Hill District, she captures moments of daily life that resonate with the themes of Wilson’s plays. From the camaraderie of pool players to the solitude of Aunt Ester in her fur and knitted hats, Smith’s photographs speak volumes about the resilience and humanity of Black community.
August Moon is a visual journey that celebrates the richness of Black life and the enduring legacy of August Wilson’s storytelling. Through Smith’s lens, viewers are invited to immerse themselves in the beauty, complexity, and resilience of ordinary Black existence.
This exhibition is part of simultaneous solo presentations with the Wexner Center for the Arts and The Gund at Kenyon College, who will also be exhibiting work by Smith.
Ming Smith Inspired Programming
An Evening with August Wilson: Art, Theater, and Conversation
February 20, 6:00–8:00 PM
This two-part event celebrates the legacy of August Wilson within the Ming Smith: August Moon exhibition.
Enjoy free pop-up monologues with admission, or purchase tickets for the Mini August Wilson Experience & Artist Talk, $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
Pop-Up Monologues
February 20, 6:00–6:30 PM
Ming Smith: August Moon Gallery
Experience the power of August Wilson’s words in the Ming Smith: August Moon exhibition. Actors from The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio will present three short monologues from Wilson’s Century Cycle plays in a series of pop-up performances. To ensure a comfortable experience for all, we encourage visitors to enjoy one or two monologues and explore other areas of the museum or exhibition. If space allows, you’re welcome to stay for additional performances.
This program is free and open to all museum visitors—drop by and be inspired!
Mini August Wilson Experience & Artist Talk
February 20, 6:30–8:00 PM
Edwards Court
Continue the evening with CMA and The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio as we delve deeper into the legacy of playwright August Wilson. Following the pop-up monologues in the Ming Smith: August Moon exhibition, this program features theatrical vignettes and a moderated conversation exploring Wilson’s Century Cycle—a powerful ten-part series of plays capturing the African-American experience across the 20th century. Discover the artistry and impact of Wilson’s work in this engaging and thought-provoking event.
Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
Image by Megan Leigh Barnard
Ming Smith: Transcendence is a Featured Project in the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial:
Support for this 2024 FotoFocus Biennial Featured Project was provided by FotoFocus.
Ming Smith, Greyhound Bus (detail), from the series August Moon, 1991. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist
