Thom E. Shaw (American, 1947–2010), Study for Today I am No One, What about 2 Hours from Now, no date, pen and black ink over traces of pencil, Museum Purchase with funds provided by the Donald P. Sowell Art Purchase Account, 2015.65

Ohio Voices

August 15–November 30, 2023

Gallery 213

With works drawn from the museum’s collections, Ohio Voices explores prints and drawings created from 1925 to the present by accomplished African American artists with Ohio connections. The exhibition also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Donald P. Sowell Endowment Committee, a museum affiliate group established in tribute to Donald P. Sowell (1929–1989), an important Cincinnati artist and art educator.

Ohio Voices recognizes the contributions of Black artists born, educated, and active in Ohio, including Nelson Stevens, Aminah Robinson, Joseph Norman, and Donald P. Sowell. It also presents works by members of Karamu Artists, Inc., a group formed in Cleveland in 1935 and funded initially through the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Exhibited for the first time are prints and drawings by Cincinnati’s Thom E. Shaw (1947–2010), acquired by the Sowell endowment. Ohio Voices culminates with artists working in Ohio today, including Terence Hammonds, Kevin Harris, Gee Horton, Carolyn Mazloomi, and Ellen Jean Price.