Winter 2024 Newsletter
In Conversation: Artist James Kuol Makuac and Curator Grace Aneiza Ali
my heart is strong because i walked on blistered feet, EADJ’s Fall 2024 exhibition, featuring the work of South-Sudan-born painter James Kuol Makuac, has received a tremendous response from Vanderbilt and the city of Nashville, as well as from an expanded community of artists and global curators. As it comes to a close on December 20, we sat down with Makuac and the exhibition’s curator, Grace Aneiza Ali to reflect on its impact.
In line with her singular mission for EADJ to invest in artists who serve as catalysts for equity, democracy, and justice, founder Dr. Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons invited Ali to curate the broader 2024–2025 Public Programs and Engagement Series, which is organized around the thematic north star — Somewhere We Are Human — a collective vision for a time and space where no one’s humanity is ever in question. The series looks at the city of Nashville and the American South, both its history and its future, through a lens of migration.
Ali shared her intentions with launching Somewhere We Are Human with Makuac’s exhibition as the centerpoint at Begonia Labs. “His life and art embodies who and what this year’s curatorial focus is in service to. Makuac has navigated worlds: from the savannahs of South Sudan, to the plains of Ethiopia where he fled civil war, to the refugee camps in Kenya that offered temporary safety. And to Nashville, the city that nurtured his art practice of contemporary Sudanese painting for the past twenty years,” wrote Ali.
Makuac’s exhibition also inaugurated the Begonia | Catalyst exhibition series, which celebrates the life and artistic practice of pioneering artists who have been under-recognized or under-the-radar. “This first Catalyst exhibition with Makuac’s work is meant to be in conversation with Dr. Campos-Pons’s groundbreaking exhibition Behold, concurrently on view at the Frist Art Museum,” Ali shared. “I wanted to curatorially position these Nashville artists as satellites within the same constellation—one Cuban-born, one South Sudan-born—and invite viewers to move up and down the Broadway corridor, from Frist to Begonia Labs, to connect their intertwined experiences of diaspora, mobility, and perseverance,” said Ali.
This conversation between Grace Aneiza Ali and James Kuol Makuac has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Grace Aneiza Ali: James, the exhibition has been up since September, and EADJ has seen such a wonderful response. What has resonated with you over these past three months?
James Makuac: This is the longest any of my exhibitions has been up. The opening was very special to me. Seeing people come together to engage with my story was incredible. People I don’t even know approached me to say, “I saw your show at Vanderbilt—is that you?” And I can proudly say, “Yes, that’s me.”
And because of its longer time on view, the exhibition has allowed for deeper conversations. We’ve had visitors from Vanderbilt, local organizations, and the community who want to hear the stories behind my art. It’s been incredible to share narratives about migration, war, and survival—stories that many people didn’t know before. One highlight was the screening of the video done by the Nashville Refugee Project and the conversation with NICE (Nashville International Center for Empowerment). It complimented my work beautifully and gave context to the stories I’ve been telling through my paintings. People told me they want to help organizations like NICE. This show wasn’t just about me—it’s opening the door for others to tell their stories and make a difference.
Ali: Your writing and your words are as impactful as your paintings. I was so struck by your poetry in your book, My Life Before: My Story of War and Refuge, that I made its pages the centerpiece of the exhibition. I wanted your own words to visually guide viewers through the various parts of the exhibition by treating them as a visual object on the wall. Can you eLaborate on the synergy between your writing and visual art?
Makuac: My words are poetry, straight from my heart, and to see them displayed alongside my paintings felt incredible. No one had ever treated my writing this way before in an exhibition. It validated both my voice and my art. I loved the Reading List pairing books, including Sudanese poetry, with the exhibition. My process starts with reflection. I think about my experiences—what I’ve been through—and I let those emotions guide my writing and painting. Often, the words come first, and then the images follow, or vice versa. It’s like they’re two sides of the same coin.
Ali: We commissioned Night Journey just for this exhibition, which is also a centerpiece of the exhibition. Can you share the memories and themes behind its creation?
Makuac: Night Journey is inspired by the walk from Ethiopia to Kenya when we traveled by night, using the moon and stars as our guide. In the painting, you’ll see the stars, including a three-star formation we used like a GPS, and elements like scorpions and lions that were part of that journey. The night sky in Africa, with its Milky Way and galaxies, is something unforgettable.
Ali: Night Journey is stunning as a painting on its own and also the story behind it. I remember you writing, “My heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet.” That line stayed with me, haunted me, and it became the title of the exhibition.
Makuac: Thank you. It’s true. Those experiences shaped me, and I carry them in my art. The journey was more than just physical—it was emotional and spiritual.
Ali: How has your perspective on life here in the United States been shaped by what you went through during those harrowing journeys?
Makuac: Compared to what I’ve experienced, life here feels like a blessing. In Ethiopia, we were constantly under threat. I remember crossing the Yellow River in 1991. The river was full of water because of the rains, and we had no choice but to jump in—amid dead bodies, bullets, snakes, and even hippos. I could swim, but some of my friends couldn’t, and it was heartbreaking. Many didn’t survive.
Ali: How have younger generations, particularly Sudanese-Americans, engaged with your art and the stories it tells?
Makuac: Many people didn’t know about the Lost Boys or that someone like me has been living here in Nashville for years. Some have even gone online to learn more about my story, while others have shared their own connections to Sudan. It’s been meaningful to talk with younger generations, other Sudanese-Americans born here, who are eager to understand where they come from. They’ve asked questions about their history and my journey, and I think my art has helped bridge that gap for them.
Ali: Yes, it’s because you’ve been part of the Nashville community for over 20 years that you were perfectly suited for the Begonia Catalyst series. And, this exhibition has brought a new audience. Your art is deeply tied to activism and educating others about your story as a Lost Boy. However, in curating this show, I wanted the audience to see you first and foremost as an artist. How does it feel to be seen as an established artist here?
Makuac: It feels wonderful. I’ve been welcomed by the artist community here. My story, especially as a Lost Boy, resonates with people, and they see the authenticity in my work. But this show has helped me connect more deeply with the community and other creative circles in Nashville. Being recognized as an artist first, that’s special. It shows that my work is standing on its own. This show has opened doors for me. Galleries have reached out about future opportunities, and I’m feeling encouraged to push myself even further. After this, I have another solo show coming up. An organization from New York reached out to me after seeing this exhibition, and they’re inviting me to showcase my work with them. It’s exciting to see where this journey is taking me. But beyond this recognition, what matters most is continuing to tell these stories—stories of survival and resilience—not just for myself but for others affected by war and displacement.
Ali: You’ve shared so much of your life through your work. Are there other stories you want to tell through your art?
Makuac: Definitely. I want to tell more stories about life in refugee camps, adjusting to life in America, and the challenges faced by immigrants. It was a challenge at first. We didn’t know what to eat—American food was so different. When they served salads, we thought, “This is grass; we can’t eat this!” [Laughs] Learning to drive was also new, but I was determined. Now, I tell people, “I drive everywhere!” It feels like freedom, especially when I think about all the miles I had to walk back then. I want to highlight the resilience of people in different parts of the world.
Ali: James, your story and your art are a testament to the power of perseverance. What do you hope visitors take away from your work?
Makuac: I hope they see resilience, faith, and hope. I want them to understand that, even in the darkest times, we can find strength to keep going. And I hope EADJ and Begonia continue to bring in artists with these stories to tell. It’s not just about my journey; there are so many others who need to be heard.
Ali: Lastly, how has painting been a personal refuge for you?
Makuac: Painting is like therapy for me. When memories of the past—dreams of walking through jungles or the loss of friends—come back, I paint them. It helps me release the pain and find peace.
Upcoming Spring 2025 Exhibition
Where Are We?
On view January 10, 2025–March 7, 2025
Begonia Labs: 2805 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN.
Where Are We? invites us to reflect on time, place, and the future with curiosity. Featuring IMGRNT (Arash Shoushtari), Alena Mehic, Jerry Bedour Philips, and Delanyo Mensah—whose roots span Iran, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Palau, and Ghana—the exhibition reassembles memory to reclaim the present and imagine new futures. These artists draw on family narratives, archival images, and personal histories to explore the complexities of migration and belonging.
The title evokes both disorientation and possibility, suggesting a threshold where boundaries blur and curiosity emerges. The question extends beyond physical place, probing the relationship between heritage, time, and transformation. The artists reject static notions of identity, offering layered realities that merge memory with reinvention.
Through worldbuilding, the artists move beyond survival, imagining new spaces for connection. They transform cultural symbols—origami boats, Persian rug motifs, postcards, and intergenerational portraits—honoring maternal figures and ancestral legacies. Their work shows that the immigrant experience is not merely adaptation but the creation of spaces where histories converge and futures are forged.
Where Are We? is guest curated by Sai Clayton as part of the Begonia |Curatorial Lab, a mentorship program fostering dialogue and curatorial exchange in the Global South(s). It is part ofSomewhere We Are Human, the 2024-25 Public Programs and Engagement series of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice at Vanderbilt University, supported by the Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation.
News from EADJ Founder
Professor Campos-Pons secures a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art and Founder of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice research initiative, has secured a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance the work of the Engine.
Campos-Pons mentions that the grant will not only allow EADJ to continue advancing current projects, it will also allow her to think strategically to ensure the program’s longevity and introduce more collaborations. Moreover, She expresses her gratitude to the Mellon Foundation, the Vanderbilt Research Development and Support, her team at EADJ, present and past curators of EADJ, and all the participating artists that have worked with the EADJ research initiative.
Read the full article about the grant announcement here.
Learn more about the Mellon Foundation here.
ARTnews Awards 2024 Lifetime Achievement: María Magdalena Campos-Pons
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Founder of the Engine for Art Democracy & Justice, wins the ARTnews Lifetime Achievement Award!
ARTnews Magazine and publications announced the ARTnews Awards, a new editorial project honoring excellence in art achievements at US art institutions. Winners were announced online on December 4th.
Over several months, ARTnews convened a world-class jury to determine the best exhibitions that opened in the US during the 2023–24 season (September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024). For its inaugural year, ARTnews honored museum, gallery, and nonprofit exhibitions in five categories, including three for one artist (or solo exhibition projects) and two for group exhibitions. The categories included Emerging Artist of the Year, Established Artist of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Best Thematic Museum Show, and Best Gallery Group Show.
Read the full article about the grant here.
Partner Exhibitions on view this winter
Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House
On view September 25, 2024–March 1, 2025
Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery, Fisk University
Fisk University Galleries is pleased to present Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House at the Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery on view from September 25, 2024 to March 1, 2025. This exhibition originated at ETH Zurich and offers a comprehensive exploration of Beverly Buchanan’s (1940–2015) diverse body of work. It features sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, writing, and printed material.
I Broke the House brings together a wide range of contemporary voices, artworks, and historical contexts. It critically engages with Buchanan’s exploration of the built environment, addressing themes of race, memory, and resistance. The exhibition emphasizes Buchanan’s ability to challenge traditional exhibition practices by reimagining the spaces that hold her work. Through her focus on eroded surfaces, vernacular dwellings, and marginalized histories, Buchanan provides a poignant commentary on the sociopolitical landscape of her time.
Curated in collaboration with GTA exhibitions at ETH Zurich, the Engine for Art, Democracy, and Justice (EADJ), and Fisk University, this exhibition project builds on the earlier presentation at ETH Zurich in the spring of 2024. That iteration of I Broke the House involved contributions from a range of artists and scholars, including Elena Bally, Jennifer Burris, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Aria Dean, Fredi Fischli, Jack Halberstam, Harvard University GSD students, Alicia Henry, Anna Gritz, Tonja Khabir, Parity Group, Prudence Lopp, Park McArthur, Devin T. Mays, Ana Mendieta, Siddhartha Mitter, Kazuko Miyamoto, Senga Nengudi, Niels Olsen, Sarah Richter, Cameron Rowland, Jamaal Sheats, Adam Szymczyk, and the Tubman African American Museum in Macon.
This collaborative project is an exploratory exercise, as Siddhartha Mitter describes it, in “thinking with” Beverly Buchanan’s practice and legacy. The presentation at Fisk includes objects from the permanent collection and archive. As part of this ongoing project, Haus am Waldsee in Berlin will also host a future exhibition inspired by Buchanan’s work, continuing the dialogue around her impact on contemporary art, particularly her connection to the American South.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold
On view September 26, 2024–January 5, 2025
Frist Art Museum
María MagdalenaCampos-Pons: Behold includes over three decades of the artist’s work in photography, installation, video, painting, and performance. Hauntingly beautiful and emotionally charged, Behold shows how Campos-Pons’s layered identity as a Cuban woman with ancestral roots in the Yoruba culture of West Africa as well as in Spain and China inform her multimedia, sensorial artworks. Evoking the history of diaspora, displacement, and migration, as well as labor and race, and motherhood and spirituality, Behold invites us to join with the artist in the vital search for meaning and connectivity.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
About the Artist
María Magdalena Campos-Pons is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair Professor of Fine Arts at Vanderbilt University. In addition to her practice as an artist and professor, she has made a significant contribution to the larger art world and to Tennessee through her ongoing program Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice, which brings together scholars, critics, and artists from around the world in virtual seminars and physical artist interventions. She was the consulting curator for the 2023 Tennessee Triennial, a statewide series of exhibitions addressing the theme of “Re-Pair”—art as a means of healing a broken society. In 2023, Campos-Pons was named a MacArthur Fellow in recognition of her groundbreaking synthesis of cultures and mediums in advocating for art’s capacity to heal individuals and society.
This exhibition is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The exhibition is curated by Carmen Hermo, former Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum and Mazie Harris, Associate Curator, Department of Photographs, J. Paul Getty Museum with Jenée-Daria Strand, former Curatorial Associate, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.