A Luminous Life: Dusti Bongé

Swing by for a program highlighting the significant contributions of women artists in the modern art movement with a focus on Dusti Bongé — considered to be Mississippi’s first modern artist — whose work is currently on view at the CMA as part of the American South Consortium’s Spotlight Series.

Start the morning with Sarah Tignor, chief operating officer at the Johnson Collection, for an all-ages gallery talk highlighting this piece as well as others by artists who were often overshadowed by their male counterparts. Then join Katie Chandler, local artist and CMA visitor experience manager, for a drop-in painting session exploring the tenets of modern abstract art. Free project kits including canvases, paints, and artist’s aprons will be available while supplies last and can be used immediately or as takeaways. Guests are invited to join this casual workshop at their own pace, gaining assistance as needed — perfect for adults and children alike. 

Free.

Bongé’s Abstract Expressionist painting Distillate of the Past (Fragment of the Past) (1958) is the fourth and final visiting work of art as part of the American South Consortium’s multi-year partnership between the CMA, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Montgomery, AL), the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Hartford, CT), and the Mobile Museum of Art (Mobile, AL) as part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program.

Together, the four institutions created the Spotlight Series to tell new and innovative stories with a unique emphasis on material culture among its curatorial offerings. The installations highlight the stories behind singular objects, one from each museum, through an in-depth presentation of its artistic, social, and historical frameworks. This multi-year, multi-institutional exhibition partnership was formed by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art as part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program.