past exhibition
Photographs from the Civil Rights Movement
On view through January 24
Protests have been fundamental to American democracy since the country’s founding. And artists have often given powerful expression to calls for change. Drawn from the museum’s collection, these photographs were made in the course of the Civil Rights protests in the 1950s and 1960s.
The passion, tragedy, and essential humanity of the Civil Rights Movement emerge in these images. Some were made by outside observers, while others were taken by participants in the protests. Photographers brought wider attention and understanding to key events such as the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965. Photographer Ernest Withers (1922-2007) created some of the most compelling images of the American Civil Rights Movement. In particular, his photographs of the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968 brought nationwide attention to the plight of African Americans trying to succeed a systemically racist political and cultural system.
Civil rights leaders embraced photography as a means of raising awareness and funding for their cause.
Ernest Withers
American, 1922–2007
Dr. Martin Luther King Is Confronted, 1963
gelatin silver print, 14 7/8 in. x 18 1/2 in. (38 x 47 cm)
Rosmond deKalb Fund, 2001.22.6
Ernest Withers
American, 1922–2007
Little Rock Nine, 1957
gelatin silver print, 14 7/8 x 18 1/8 in. (38 x 46 cm)
Rosmond deKalb Fund, 2001.22.5
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.