08/25/2026
What goes into bringing an exhibition to life? To celebrate Grounded at the Gregg, we're laying out some GROUNDwork to take you behind the scenes of our season of four exhibitions opening this summer and fall.
GROUNDwork is our series about the people, processes, expertise, and everyday work that bring these exhibitions to life. First up: Dr. Tamir Williams, curatorial research assistant at Art Bridges and curator of Crafting Sanctuaries: Black Spaces of the Great Depression South, which explores how Black Southerners invested in their homes and communities while navigating economic hardship and racial violence.
Curators research artists and artworks, develop ideas for exhibitions, and help shape the stories an exhibition tells. It’s a mix of scholarship, collaboration, and storytelling. In Crafting Sanctuaries, Dr. Williams began with a question about absence: Who is missing from the way we remember the Great Depression—and why?
Their research led to photographs from the Farm Security Administration, including a remarkable series by Russell Lee documenting the La Forge Farms project in southeast Missouri. Of the photograph featured here, Dr. Williams notes: "I’m particularly drawn to the person holding the lamp in their hand as the truck carries them and their belongings to their new residence. The way in which they tightly clasp the lamp seems to reflect the care that went into deciding what they would bring into their new domestic world."
This is a small glimpse into what curatorial work can look like: asking questions, making connections, and finding new ways for art and history to be seen.
📰Read Dr. Tamir's full interview at http://ncst.at/mIjp50ZER7a
