WALK A MILE WITH JOYCE J. SCOTT

A ‘must-see’ exhibition of 2024, Walk A Mile in My Dreams is organized into ten sections. Each one highlights Scott’s mastery of various mediums and her keen ability to celebrate beauty, culture, and craft while also speaking truth to power and interrogating injustice. The iconic, intricate beaded sculptures – a hallmark of her artistry – have a prominent and formidable presence. 

As a child, Scott learned to embroider with beads and incorporate glass and other objects under the tutelage of her mother, renowned textile artist, Elizabeth Talford Scott. At her feet, she learned to sew and quilt and in the African American tradition…repurpose, reinvent, and create something from nothing - a multi-generational process that also spurned female agency and self-sufficiency.

Beads became significant to Scott on multiple levels. As objects of trade, they are ubiquitous and have an ancient history. They link African, especially Yoruba, traditions across the diaspora. Like fabric, they hold inherent color, and yet they also channel light. (Exhibition catalog, pg. 16)  “It’s the thing I’m most adroit with,” Scott said in a conversation with Leslie King Hammond for the Exhibition catalog. "I can work it really fast. It’s something I can afford and it’s my way of showing how good I am.  I’m not meant to be mediocre or part of the rabble or just so. I am meant to be the One.” Artwork below, detail from beaded tapestry, I Call Her Name, Joyce J. Scott, 2023. 

Creativity, Scott said, is in her DNA. A weaver, sculptor, performance artist, printmaker, and educator, she inherited the multitalented gene from generations of family members who were craftspeople and performers. “Not necessarily because they wanted to be,” she said. But they didn’t have a choice.” Scott’s parents fled the Carolinas in the thirties as part of the Great Migration of Blacks who moved north to escape persecution in the South. “Both my parents went to one-room schoolhouses. They had what might be equivalent to a sixth-grade education.” 

Born in Baltimore in 1948, she grew up in a segregated, working-class neighborhood that nurtured her creative talent. The skills learned from her Mother became a virtual passport and won her a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).  After earning a BFA in arts education, Scott traveled to Mexico and lived in an art colony in San Miguel. There, she worked with other artisans and learned new techniques: textile design, macrame, ceramics, loom weaving, metalwork, and leatherwork. She was particularly drawn to the intricate beadwork traditions of indigenous Mexican cultures.

"My parents gave me the ability to be a global citizen,” she said. "They made me strong enough to open the door for myself." While her father wanted her to become a teacher or a social worker, it became clear that she was on the right path. Scott won another scholarship to the Instituto Allende where she earned her Master of Fine Arts.  "That was the beginning of me knowing my worth."

The life-changing experience in Mexico in the 1970s, would catapult Scott into a lifelong commitment to artistic learning and engagement with global cultures. Subsequent travels to Cuba, Peru, Mali, Senegal, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand, and Italy, would follow. Fascinated by the history and presence of African people in diverse cultural contexts, Scott immersed herself in the rich tapestry of traditions, stories, and struggles that connect diasporic communities worldwide.

As a result, her work has responded to global events and become a powerful testament to the interconnectedness of global Black experiences. She masterfully uses wit, candor, humor, and profound insight to confront the complex issues of racism, sexism, and violence. Her blend of cultural influences with contemporary themes creates art that is visually stunning and conceptually rich. Visitors to Walk a Mile in My Dreams will immediately be transfixed by the sheer beauty and brilliance of Scott’s artistry. Once inside, they will be challenged with certain uncomfortable truths. 

In her Watermelon series, she employs the loaded symbolism of the fruit to challenge stereotypes and highlight the insidious nature of racial tropes. Similarly, her Lynching series delves into the harrowing history of racial violence in America, confronting viewers with the brutality of racism while simultaneously demanding reflection and action.  Mammy/Nanny portrays the hypocritical ways in which Black nannies are perceived by their white masters or employers, and the power dynamic of having to prioritize the needs of their white children over their own children. Scott's ability to blend humor with searing social commentary makes her work deeply resonant, and a catalyst for important conversations.

Themes of identity would also play out in Scott’s fashion design. “I dressed with world consciousness,” she said. “I made garments with African fabric and Indian mirror work and something else from Central America.” Pieces of this innovative artwear are featured in the section Fashioning Consciousness, along with sculptures and jewelry. 

Other exhibition highlights include: A new large-scale commission, The Threads That Unite My Seat to Knowledge, featuring heirloom family quilts to honor generations of makers in Scott’s family. Iconic work reunited; ephemera and rare performance footage of Scott’s earliest performances and solo theater pieces reveal the breadth and depth of her artistry. A communal weaving area and Rest & Reflection: The Living Archive – invites visitors to engage with collaborative artwork, books, music, and writing prompts.

Walk a Mile in My Dreams is a massive exhibition; yet very fitting for Scott whom BMA said is ‘one of the most significant artists of our time.’ The retrospective and corresponding 288-page catalog fulfill one of her long-held mantras...“I will not be denied!” she said., referring to her unwavering assertion that “she is powerful, has agency, and cannot be stopped from manifesting an extraordinary legacy.”

Not only was Scott determined to manifest an extraordinary legacy, but very much like other African American griots who carry her kind of mantle, she was conscious of creating a path for others in two distinct ways. She confronted the notion that folk and craft traditions, predominantly practiced by women, were lesser forms of artistic expression. By centering her work around these techniques, she effectively used glass beads to shatter the glass ceiling that had long confined crafters to the margins of the art world. In doing so, she challenged the established hierarchies of artistic value, and celebrated the often-overlooked contributions of women to the contemporary art canon.

Drawing from her own Southern roots and inspired by Black feminist writers like Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Scott was compelled to focus on the specific challenges faced by Black women. She amplified their stories through her work - shining a light on the intersections of race, gender, and power that shape their lives. By drawing from the rich tapestry of Black women's experiences, Scott not only honored their resilience, but also demanded recognition and justice in a society that too often marginalized their voices.

Artwork above, Installation photo by Mitro Hood. 

Detail from Joyce J. Scott & Elizabeth Talford Scott  (American, 1916-2011) Monsters, Dragons, and Flies, 1982, Fabric, thread, beads, 68 × 57 in. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc. 2022.9.66 

Meet the Artist: JOYCE J. SCOTT SPEAKS 

Scott's Mother, acclaimed fiber art, Elizabeth Talford Scott, was recently celebrated city-wide!  Five museums and four university sites across Baltimore City participated in the No Stone Left Unturned: The Elizabeth Talford Scott Initiative that reunited Talford Scott’s major works.  You can still see Talford Scott's work at two museums, listed in our Spring '24 Arts Guide.