Ming Smith: Transcendence
Columbus Museum of Art
Located in Lower Level Walter Wing
On view September 19, 2024–January 26, 2025
Admission Information
Ming Smith: Transcendence is included with the cost of general admission.
Members get FREE admission.
Not a member? Join today!
If you need help planning your visit, call 614.221.6801. Click here for information about ticket prices, parking, and additional visit information.
Exhibition Description
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is proud to present Ming Smith: Transcendence, featuring the entirety of this remarkable series for the first time. Through this exhibition, CMA offers a rare opportunity to delve into Ming Smith’s identity as an artist deeply rooted in the diverse fabric of Columbus, Ohio.
Smith’s lens intricately threads together the cultural tapestry of Columbus, showcasing the influences of luminaries such as Nancy Wilson, Aminah Robinson, Toyce Anderson, Toni Morrison, and Linda Goode Bryant. Ming’s narrative unfolds against familiar backdrops, from Carl Brown’s IGA on Mt Vernon Avenue to Dr. Tyler’s drugstore on the east side, resonating with personal memories of her father’s pharmacy. The halls of The Ohio State University reflect familial achievements, while S. Wheatland Avenue bears witness to pivotal moments in the Hilltop’s history.
Transcendence surpasses the confines of traditional photography; it is a deeply intimate exploration of Ming’s reconciliation with her hometown. Inspired by Alice Coltrane’s transformative music, Ming’s series confronts the injustices of her racially divided upbringing in Columbus with compassion and insight.
Transcendence is presented alongside the work of Columbus-born, National Book Award-winning author and Macarthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson, whose books have been recognized for grappling deeply with nuanced issues of race and gender. Including newly commissioned poems as well as previously published pieces, Woodson’s verses elucidate and echo the emotive journey of Ming’s return to Columbus, offering multidimensional entryways towards greater understanding. In lieu of interpretive texts, Woodson’s writing gives voice to Smith’s subjects and articulates the memories embedded within her images through dynamic storytelling.
Ming’s narrative invites viewers to engage with the images as a public discourse, with much of Transcendence remaining unseen and unprinted, offering endless opportunities for exploration and interpretation.
Join us in celebrating Ming Smith’s artistic legacy and reconnecting with her profound vision as we welcome the artist back to the city that shaped her. Through Transcendence, Ming invites us on a journey of rediscovery, where the past merges with the present, and the potential for understanding knows no bounds.
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
CMA Community Days
January 19, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
FREE
Enjoy a day filled with activities in celebration of our special exhibitions, Ming Smith: Transcendence and Fragments of Epic Memory. Admission to CMA Community Days is completely free, including general access and entry to the exhibitions. We invite visitors of all ages to cultivate creativity and connection through our diverse range of exhibitions and inspired programming.
CMA Community Days are made possible through generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
All are welcome, registration is encouraged.
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, Brown Girl Dreaming (detail), from the series Transcendence, 1990. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist
