Clark Atlanta University Art Museum proudly announces the opening of its Fall 2025 Exhibition Season with “Ancestral Mirrors,” a solo exhibition by acclaimed Atlanta-based artist Shenequa Gay. The exhibition will open on Thursday, September 18, 2025, from 4:30–7:00 p.m. ET at Clark Atlanta University Art Museum (223 James P. Brawley Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30314).
Conceived as a speculative altar, “Ancestral Mirrors” is constructed from memory, lineage, and metaphysical presence. Visitors will encounter a world built from the shimmer of (re)memory, the weight of inherited objects, and the sacred act of stitching the past into the present—a visual ritual of sorts.
“Ancestral Mirrors” embodies ancestral voices, sacred rites, matrilineal care, Black femininity, and our connection to the divine; honors both personal histories and collective cultural legacies; and reflects not only the past but also the possibility of new futures. Danille Taylor, Ph.D., director of the museum, says, “The exhibition invites us to consider the profound ways in which history, memory, and ritual shape our present lives and our collective imagination. Shanequa Gay’s work transforms the museum into a sacred space where visitors can reflect, remember, and reimagine.”
This landmark exhibition continues the museum’s mission to showcase innovative artists whose work engages with African American and African diasporic histories, traditions, and futures.
Event Details:
What: Fall 2025 Exhibition Season Opening — “Ancestral Mirrors” by Shenequa Gay
When: Thursday, September 18, 2025 · 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, 223 James P. Brawley Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
About Clark Atlanta University Art Museum
Clark Atlanta University Art Museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and study of art of the African diaspora. Through dynamic exhibitions and programming, the Museum provides a vital space for education, cultural exchange, and artistic innovation. The CAU Museum’s core collections were built through the venerated Atlanta Art Annuals, which played a significant role in showcasing and supporting major African American artists who were often excluded from mainstream art institutions, such as Henry O. Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett, and Charles White.
About Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation’s first institution to award graduate degrees to African Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation’s first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37-member UNCF institutions. CAU offers a wide range of bachelor, master and doctorate degree programs in business, education, public administration, and social work and in innovative fields such as cyber-physical systems.
Notable alumni include: James Weldon Johnson, poet, and songwriter of Lift Every Voice and Sing “The Black National Anthem”; Ralph David Abernathy Sr., American civil rights activist; Congressman Hank Johnson, Georgia District 4; Kenya Barris, American award-winning television and movie producer; Kenny Leon, Tony Award-winning Broadway Director; and Jacque Reid, Emmy Award-winning Television Personality and Journalist. To learn more about Clark Atlanta University, visit www.cau.edu.