An exhibition opening today at the Peoria Riverfront Museum features work by contemporary artist Glenn Ligon.
The anchor piece of the exhibition is titled I Am Somebody, the title of a 1950's poem by Atlanta pastor Dr. William Holmes Borders. The painting is on loan from Arts Bridges, an organization which loans out pieces of art to museums across the country.
Ligon is a New York based artist known for his text-based paintings, which draw inspiration from influential writings and speeches.
“All of these pieces are a little bit different,” said assistant curator Everley Davis. “But they are borrowed text and phrases from writers and thinkers that have inspired and also commented on the struggle for asserting Black identity and finding that and the point of view within art.”
President and CEO John Morris says the piece matches the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s mission statement.
“I am somebody, the notion that you have unique talents,” he said. “Here at the Peoria Riverfront Museum our mission is to release the full talent and genius of every individual.”
The exhibition includes other works by Ligon and video of Reverend Jesse Jackson reciting his re-imagined version of “I Am Somebody,” which he performed at protests and on PBS’s Sesame Street in 1972.
Ligon’s work features 20th century writing and speeches by James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Genet, and Peoria native Richard Pryor.
The exhibition is in the same hall which displays Pryor’s first ever public relations photos. Morris says they’re hoping Ligon will come visit the museum and Pryor’s hometown of Peoria.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum is one of the only to host a concentrated Ligon exhibition. Davis encourages people from all walks of life to come view the work.
“It’s not just about the Black experience, but how we all come together to build this American story,” Davis said.
