Rejoice at the MMFA as we celebrate African American culture, creativity, and
community on Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18.
Montgomery, AL, June 8, 2022 – The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the City
of Montgomery and its Department of Cultural Affairs, is excited to invite the community to Juneteenth
at the MMFA, a celebration of African American culture and creativity, on Saturday, June 17 from 9 to
11 AM and Sunday, June 18 from 1 to 4 PM.
Saturday
The festivities start at 9 AM when the John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden gates open to a
Second Line-style processional parade accompanied by Jonathan Michael and the G.W. Carver High
School band and flag team. Visitors are invited and encouraged to join the processional and can pick
up flags and noisemakers at the gates starting at 8:30 AM.
Following the parade, visitors can participate in art-making activities by designing their celebratory
tambourines and Juneteenth flags. Throughout the morning, attendees will enjoy live music from
Jonathan Michael, create sidewalk chalk art inspired by the holiday, and get a family portrait at our
photo booth with Juneteenth-inspired flair. Featured artist EL Chisolm, based in Atlanta and a
Birmingham native, will lead a collaborative mural project with a reveal of the completed mural near the
end of the event. Delicious, free snacks and strawberry lemonade will be available on a first come, first
serve basis from the Museum’s cafe, Verde.
Inside the Museum, visitors can explore The Bias Inside Us, an exhibition from the Smithsonian
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service designed to raise awareness about the social science and
psychology of implicit bias, the impact of this bias, and what people can do about it. Also on view are
two exhibitions of youth art by local students from Valiant Cross Academy and the MMFA’s Teen Arts
and Activism Camp, with themes that celebrate the role of art in social change.
“Reminding us that as long as any one of us is in bondage, we are all shackled, Juneteenth offers us
the opportunity to celebrate freedom,” says Board President Laurie Jean Weil, D.V.M. “Through visual
and performative arts, the MMFA Juneteenth observance invites all Montgomerians to come together
to commemorate liberation and the creative spirit within each of us. Please join us and bring your
family and friends to your Museum.”
Head of Learning and Programs Emily Thomas adds, “The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts’
Juneteenth Celebration is a wonderful event for families to observe this country’s history while
connecting with the thriving arts community of the River Region. Through our Museum programs, we
hope to build a better future based on equity, freedom, and justice.”
Sunday
The Mayor's Young Professional Council will host a Father's Day Brunch, Juneteenth Weekend, June
18, from 1 to 4 PM in the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts' Caddell Sculpture Garden.
The event will offer the opportunity to join in fellowship to celebrate family and the Juneteenth holiday.
Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch, while beverages will be provided. Food trucks will also be
on-site for those who want to sample some excellent local cuisine. Attendees will enjoy music, artmaking
activities, and a photobooth throughout the event.
EVENT PARTNERS
City of Montgomery
EL Chisolm
G.W. Carver High School Marching Band
Jonathan Michael
Mayor's Young Professional Council
Valiant Cross Academy
Verde
ABOUT JUNETEENTH
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States that celebrates the emancipation of enslaved
African Americans. Juneteenth’s commemoration is held on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when
Army Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in Texas, the last state
of the Confederacy with institutional slavery, due to the ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Originating in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts
of the United States since 1866 as a celebration of African American culture. It became a federal
holiday on June 17, 2021, the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in
1983.
MMFA BACKGROUND
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1930 by a group of local artists as a place for
both exhibiting art and space for art education. The original intentions of our founders—to exhibit and
teach—continue to inspire and inform every action and activity here at the Museum which, since 1988,
has shared the 277-acre Blount Cultural Park with our partners across the lake at the celebrated
Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
Today’s MMFA visitors stroll through art-studded grounds and permanent collection galleries. They
see compelling changing exhibitions and learn about art by playing in our interactive gallery, ArtWorks,
making art in its bustling studios, or by participating in other engaging events and programs. And, as
of late September 2018, MMFA visitors can now relax and recharge in the serenity of our stunning new
three-acre sculpture garden.
While the Museum’s collection is still home to the art of many of the regional artists who first
established it, over time it has become known for its strength in American art and Old Master Prints.
Recent, important acquisitions of art made by African American and Asian artists and works inspired
by images and themes related to the experiences of these groups represent the breadth and depth of
the lives and concerns of those who now call Montgomery and the River Region home. Through the
exhibition of this work as well as the programs and events that help connect our communities with it,
the MMFA is recognized as a leading arts and cultural resource here in the state and Southeastern
region.
The MMFA is a department of the City of Montgomery and is supported by funds from the City of
Montgomery, with additional funds from the Montgomery County Commission and the Montgomery
Museum of Fine Arts Association. Programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Alabama
State Council on the Arts.
GENERAL INFORMATION
WHAT/WHEN: Juneteenth Celebration
Saturday, June 17, 2023; from 9 to 11 AM
Father's Day Brunch
Sunday, June 18, 2023; from 1 to 4 PM
WHERE: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park
One Museum Drive
Montgomery, AL 36117
INFORMATION: mmfa.org
334.625.4333
@MontgomeryMFA
HOURS: Galleries, ArtWorks, Sculpture Garden, Terrace, and Shop
Mondays, Closed
Tuesdays–Sunday, 10 AM–5 PM
Last entry at 4:45 PM
ADMISSION: Free! With ample, free parking.
MEDIA CONTACT
Stephen Hayes: shayes@mmfa.org | 334.625.4347
