Cover photo: James Barnor, Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck, Kilburn, London, 1966, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy Autograph ABP
By TNCPNEWS Staff
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is located in the heart of the city near Rosa Parks Circle. GRAM is one of the world’s first LEED Gold-certified art museums. This designation recognizes high standards in environmentally responsible design, energy efficiency, sustainable building materials, and reduced environmental impact.
More than just a walk through of galleries, entering the building itself makes it a destination, evoking spaciousness, strong lines, and the anticipation of creativity. Designed with expansive glass, limestone, steel, integrated natural light, and a sustainable system, the museum is modern and welcoming. The wide-open galleries and balanced lighting also make the experience visually stunning and genuinely joyful. The staff was equally warm and friendly, adding a personal sense of hospitality that elevated the experience from the moment we arrived.
During our visit to the Changing Exhibition Galleries, we viewed “As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic,” which was on display from December 6, 2025, until April 26, 2026. The exhibition was a compelling compilation of photographs exploring Black identity through works rooted in African diasporic culture from around the world. We found a sense of familiarity with our own Black American lives in nearly every image, even when they were captured in different countries.
Drawn from Dr. Kenneth Montague’s Wedge Collection in Toronto, a Black-owned collection dedicated to artists of African descent, the exhibition examined the layered experiences of Black life through the lenses of community and cultural identity. The curated exhibition included more than 100 works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, the United States, South Africa, and throughout the African continent. It reminded us how beauty often transcends borders. There was something deeply significant about the narratives centered on self-representation and cultural memories of our own lives.
As artist and curator Liz Ikiriko wrote in the accompanying catalog, “The pictures here forefront the experience of Black life, in all its myriad forms: a marker of the histories and spaces (real and ephemeral) that transcend geographic boundaries… The collection extends out to a global diaspora and proclaims, ‘We are home.'” The sense of home, identity, and global connections resonates throughout the exhibition, making it not simply a visual experience but an emotional and intellectual one.
The GRAM is located at 101 Monroe Center NW. Visitors can learn about current exhibitions, admission, membership, and programs by visiting www.artmuseumgr.org. Whether planning a family outing, a cultural day trip, or a personal exploration, the museum offers a meaningful destination where sustainability, creativity, and global storytelling meet.
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Editor’s note: Visitors will find numerous dining options within walking distance of the museum. Also, plan for paid parking on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every Saturday, hands-on art making at the Creative Learning Center is included with museum admission. It is a fun way for visitors of all ages to create, explore, and add something special to their GRAM experience.
For TNCPNEWS’ bibliophiles: As We Rise Exhibition at GRAM – Reading List for Adults
Jamel Shabazz, Best Friends, Brooklyn, New York, 1981, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy Jamel Shabazz
Samuel Fosso, ‘70s Lifestyle, 1975–78, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021).
© Samuel Fosso, courtesy JM.PATRAS/PARIS
Dawit L. Petros, Hadenbes, 2005, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy the artist/Bradley Ertaskiran
