By Marion Filler
Art in the Atrium Inc., is not only one of the East Coast’s premier annual exhibitions of African American art. It’s also one of the most resilient.
It survived the death of its co-founder, and a pandemic, to celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sunday at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center.
“I’m honestly surprised, but really very much pleased and encouraged, because it started out as just an event that we wanted to put on for Black History Month in 1992. We never saw any images of ourselves in the (Morris County) Courthouse,” said attorney Charles Craig, who launched Art in the Atrium with his late wife, Viki, a schoolteacher and accomplished quilter.
Over the years, controversy was no stranger to the show, which filled four floors of the Morris County administration and records building on Court Street.
Sometimes reality was harsh, and depictions of everyday experience in Black America ruffled a few feathers. The loss of Viki Craig in 2018 was another body blow. Then the pandemic shut down the Courthouse and, for two years, Art in the Atrium.
ATA was down but not out. Small shows replaced the big one, artists did not disappear, and other locations were found to display their work. The Morris Museum in Morris Township partnered with ATA last year to present The Social Fabric, a quilt exhibition.
This spring, the museum will host another exhibit marking ATA’s three decades.
While Charles Craig remains involved, these shows now are in the hands of the next generation, the Craigs’ daughters, Lauren and Simone.
The exhibit at MPAC is a smaller version of ATA shows from the past.
“This is a pop-up,” said Lauren Craig, explaining that “right now, all of our shows are of temporary nature. This is the first in a series of events for our 30th year. We will be here (at MPAC) for Black History Month, and then back to the Morris Museum in May.”
The roster of artists includes Alonzo Adams, Carol Black-Lemon, Leroy Campbell, Patricia Coleman-Cobb, Harold Davis, Mikel Elam, Antoinette Ellis Williams, Anthony Gartmond, Garry Grant, Curtis Grayson, III, George Johnson, Rosalind Nzinga Nichol, Ron E.A. Powell, Onnie C. Strother, and Nettie Thomas.
Grayson estimates he has been part of the show for 15 or 20 years. He appreciates the increased awareness of Black artists thanks to Art in the Atrium.
“We’ve always been here as artists, said Grayson. “Now it’s great to see that we’re getting recognition from the world.”
He observed that media once focused on the Harlem Renaissance, but glorified the practitioners only after they passed away. As the new generation has risen behind the old, “things are changing and opening up. It’s like a scramble trying to find where these artists have been. Diversity is heavy on the plate right now,” he said, and it’s good to see.
As the crowd came and went on Sunday, Charles Craig reflected on what ATA has become.
“The important part of why we’re still going on is because the Black community began to appreciate that they could see themselves on the walls in a meaningful way, not in a disparaging way, just seeing what Black folks do daily, and what artists are able to present to us, and draw us into their vision.
“I think we are lucky,” Craig added. “We found a responsive group of artists and a responsive community– Black and white — and we’re still going.”
Art in the Atrium runs through March 6, 2022, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, with a closing reception on Feb. 27 from 6 pm to 8 p.m. Artworks are displayed in the Starlight Room and on the second floor mezzanine. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by appointment only; admission is free. Call Lee Kaloidis at (973) 539-0345 x6587 or text #ATA2022. Additionally, ticketed MPAC patrons can see the exhibition before performances and during intermission.
So good to see another talented Franklin Corners family sharing their talents with the community and the world.