Rowan University Art Gallery and Museum

Our current exhibition "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" features Black Panther Party artists Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. Curated by Colette Gaiter, this exhibition presents the artists’ lifelong commitments to people, justice, liberation, and the freedom to express their creative visions. Interested in learning more about the Black Panther Party artists and their inspirational work? Click here to read our gallery guide: https://buff.ly/4b8zHRl ?? Installation views of "Carrying On..." 2025, Images courtesy of Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum, Photo credit: Constance Mensh. "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" is on view at Rowan University Art Gallery and Museum through March 15. #RowanUniversity #contemporaryart #nowonview

Some amazing photos from last weekend's "Carrying On..." panel discussion and opening reception! ? If you weren't able to attend, we have another very special event happening this Saturday. Join us tomorrow, Feb. 15 at 2:30 pm for a gallery tour with "Carrying On" Curator Colette Gaiter! No RSVP is necessary — we hope to see you tomorrow! "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" is on view through March 15. To learn more about this powerful exhibition: https://buff.ly/3CFyXGP ?? Images courtesy of Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum, Photo credit: Gavin Schweiger. Rowan University #RowanUniversity #gallerytour

This Saturday, Feb. 8 join us for a very special event celebrating Black History Month and the opening of "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" in our gallery! This exhibition celebrates the works of former Black Panther Party artists: Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. Feb. 8 from 3-4 pm - Panel discussion with the artists and curator (???????? ??????) Opening reception to follow from 4-6 pm RSVP here: https://buff.ly/3WRUgvt Hope to see you there! ?? Installation view of "Carrying On..." 2025, Image courtesy of Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum, Photo credit: Constance Mensh. Rowan University #RowanUniversity #artevent #openingreception

Join us next Saturday, Feb. 8 for a special event celebrating the opening of our new exhibition! "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" Panel discussion with the artists and curator on Feb. 8 from 3-4 pm Curator Colette Gaiter will be in conversation with three of the artists in the gallery: Gayle Asali Dickson, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. Emory Douglas will join via Zoom. Panel discussion (???????? ??????) Join the waitlist here: https://buff.ly/40N5ELv The opening reception is from 4-6 pm RSVP: https://buff.ly/40zSO1T ?? Installation view of "Carrying On..." 2025, Image courtesy of Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum, Photo credit: Constance Mensh. Rowan University #RowanUniversity #artevent #openingreception

Our new exhibition "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" is open! Curated by Colette Gaiter, "Carrying On..." showcases the legacy and current work of four artists from the Black Panther Party (BPP): Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon together for the first time to honor their lifelong commitments to people, justice, liberation, and the freedom to express their creative visions. Next Saturday, Feb. 8: Panel discussion with the artists and curator from 3-4 pm ???????? ?????? / ???????????????? ??????????????????: https://buff.ly/40N5ELv Opening reception to follow from 4-6 pm ????????: https://buff.ly/40zSO1T ?? Installation view of "Carrying On..." 2025, Image courtesy of Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum. Rowan University #RowanUniversity #artevent #openingreception

"I was born into a legacy of revolution and rebellion, a calling to fight for change that is central to my work. Much of my art speaks to the struggles of oppressed people fighting for liberation." -Akinsanya Kambon Working in clay for almost four decades, Akinsanya Kambon creates vessels, figures, and wall plaques. These ceramics visualize narratives of the Black diaspora, including African histories, mythologies, and stories of violence and revolution from throughout Africa and the Americas. From 1966 to 1968, Kambon served in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps as a combat illustrator and infantryman and was awarded several Purple Hearts for his bravery. Upon his return, he joined the Sacramento chapter of the Black Panther Party. As Lieutenant of Culture, he worked on the layout and illustrations for The Black Panther newspaper. Kambon earned a BA and an MA from California State University, Fresno. He has been working as a professor of art at the California State University, Long Beach, for twenty-six years and running free youth art programs devoted to African, Indigenous, and Latino culture out of his Long Beach studio. Recent solo exhibitions include the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, and Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento. Recent group exhibitions were at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Oakland Museum of California; and Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland. In 2023, Kambon received the Mohn Award for Artistic Excellence from the Hammer Museum of Contemporary Art. Curated by Colette Gaiter, "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" opens next week! In celebration of Black History Month, join us for our panel talk with the artists and curator on Feb. 8. The panel begins at 3 pm, followed by an opening reception. To RSVP: https://buff.ly/4fQT1n0 ?? "King Leopold's Soliloquy" 2018, Raku-fired clay, 16 1/2 x 9 x 6 1/2 inches ? Akinsanya Kambon. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. #AboutTheArtist #RowanUniversity

"I started working in black and white, then used color media, and now I create digital color art using software applications. Recently, I have been playing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) prompts to create images of Black people who are underrepresented in AI." -Malik Edwards When he was young, Malik Edwards discovered his talent by drawing Captain Marvel, Superman, and other superheroes as Black, imagining himself in those roles. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) in 1963 and served in Vietnam. After returning in 1966, the Corps recognized his artistic talents and assigned him to work as a Corps illustrator. In 1970, Edwards moved to Northern California and trained as an apprentice with the Black Panther Party’s (BPP) Minister of Culture, Emory Douglas. He learned the technical details of drawing, printing, and layout there, working alongside Gayle Asali Dickson. As the head of the Black Panther Party’s Washington, D.C. regional branch, he designed posters, flyers, and magazines for pro-Black events and anti-drug campaigns. Edwards left the BPP in 1973. He also taught art and worked as a drug counselor. Throughout his long career, Malik Edwards has used various media and methods as a graphic designer and artist. He later learned to use digital media and, most recently, incorporated AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools. His work has been exhibited in galleries in the Washington D.C. and San Francisco Bay areas. He currently works at a high school in Oakland, California, as a Restorative Practice Case Manager. "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" Featuring artists Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. This exhibition is curated by Colette Gaiter. Save the date! Our opening reception and panel talk will be on Saturday, February 8. The panel begins at 3 pm, with the reception to follow. RSVP here: https://buff.ly/4fQT1n0 ?? "Can’t Forget!" 2021, Digital print, 18 x 30 inches ? Malik Edwards. Image courtesy of the artist. #AboutTheArtist #RowanUniversity

"It is our duty as the makers of The Arts Of Resistance to always recognize the oppression of others." -Emory Douglas Emory Douglas has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1951. After studying commercial art at City College of San Francisco, he was the Black Panther Party’s Revolutionary Artist and then Minister of Culture from February 1967 until the early 1980s. He art directed, designed, and illustrated for The Black Panther newspaper. Working with other artists and designers, his direction sustained the paper’s bold graphic look. After the BP newspaper ceased publication, he worked at the San Francisco Sun Reporter, a Black newspaper in San Francisco. In 2007, a monograph of Douglas’s work for The Black Panther brought his visual activism to new generations. Douglas had solo exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (2008) and the New Museum in New York (2009). In 2015, he became the first living Black person to win an AIGA Medal for contributing to the field of visual communications. In 2022, he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame. In addition to exhibitions and inclusion in museum collections around the world, he speaks to all ages of students and audiences at a range of venues. Remaining community-minded, he often collaborates on a local project when he gives a talk or exhibits his work. "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" Participating Artists include Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. Curated by Colette Gaiter. Join us for our panel talk with the artists and curator on Feb. 8! The panel talk begins at 3 pm, with the reception to follow. https://buff.ly/4fQT1n0 ?? "All Power to the People: Paperboy" 2015, Inkjet on paper, (remix of original Paperboy), 13 x 19 inches ? 2024 Emory Douglas, AFLaw. #AboutTheArtist #RowanUniversity

"As an artist, I believe in my calling to help make sure that our African American stories, America’s stories, are not forgotten." -Gayle Asali Dickson The Reverend Gayle Asali Dickson is a San Francisco Bay Area native, an artist, a member of the Black Panther Party, and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ denomination. In 1970, she joined the Black Panther Party in Seattle, and in 1972, she and other Seattle members migrated to the Oakland headquarters. Dickson was the only woman artist for The Black Panther newspaper between 1972 and 1974, drawing primarily women and children during the “Oakland Base of Operation” period. Between 1974 and 1976, she taught at the Oakland Community School using art as a teaching tool. After ordination in 1998, she served as Pastor of a church in South Berkeley for eight years. She started the Friday Night Art and Dinner Program, exposing children to world cultures through art and food. Her Little Bobby Hutton Youth and Adult Literacy Program at the church used The Black Panther newspaper as a teaching tool. Over the years, she continued her creative work, exhibiting in the Bay Area and nationally. Currently, she is working on a painting project about six women called “The Empowering Voice of Women from the Bible and African-American Women in History.” Our new exhibition "Carrying On: Black Panther Party Artists Continue the Legacy" opens on Jan. 27 and features works by Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, Malik Edwards, and Akinsanya Kambon. This exhibition is curated by Colette Gaiter. RSVP for the panel talk on Saturday, Feb. 8! The panel is from 3-4 pm, with the reception to follow. For more details: https://buff.ly/4fQT1n0 ?? "Queen Ida B. Wells-Barnette, Anti-Lynching campaign, Journalist, Entrepreneur" 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 15 x 30 inches ? Gayle Asali Dickson. Image courtesy of the artist. #AboutTheArtist #RowanUniversity