The Tubman Gallery is turning heads because of its unique approach at exposing the community to powerful art by black and brown artists.
“We wanted to actually showcase something that’s next level, right? Like where you don’t have to go downtown or to the west side or to the art district to actually experience this level of art,” said Dante Williams, Tubman Gallery co-founder.
“We wanted to make sure that we had a variety of artists that were from all over that represented different backgrounds and different levels of experience,” said Matthew Nelson, Tubman co-founder.
Harriet Tubman, the most famous abolitionist in the country is the gallery’s namesake. A gallery created for the people in the east Fort Worth community.
“The freedom to just come on in, right? The freedom to walk through the door. The freedom of home on some level, right? If you go to your grandmother’s house, the door is already open a lot of times, right? The front door is open, the screen door might be closed, but you know that you can walk in whenever you’re ready,” said Nelson.
The gallery is meant to be an extension of their homes, in an area where many people feel underrepresented.
An exhibition with a message of freedom.
“Is the feeling of feeling confined versus feeling free, right? Artists kinda go through this constantly as well, where they either have the freedom to create or they don’t,” said Nelson. “They either have the freedom to express their own ideas, or they have to express other people’s ideas or do things that make more sense from an economic or commercial perspective,” said Nelson.
Showcasing artists on a whole other level, all while empowering and exposing a community to different forms of artwork they’ve never experienced in person.
“We want people to walk away with the feeling of one, I’m welcome into these spaces, but two, I can be me in these spaces and I can be as free as I need to be,” said Williams.
Admission is free at the Tubman Gallery.
The inaugural exhibition runs through June 8th, 2024.