Project Onward Artists Pay Tribute To Their African American Predecessors

Coinciding with Black History Month, the arts nonprofit Project Onward hosted the opening of its new exhibition, “Distinct Portraits by disAbled Artists,” last Friday at the Bridgeport Art Center. The exhibition showcased portraits of esteemed African-American artists by Project Onward sculptors, painters, and even glitter artists.

“Our artists, like their contemporary artists, are just as capable of performing artwork that can go into a museum,” said Gomez.

Andrew Hall on Kehinde Wiley: “When I got the commission, I said, ‘I have a great idea for this guy.’ I said I’m going to focus more on color because I wanted everything to be more color coated than flat-out plain. That’s where I got the idea for the yellow. . . . I started using the African colors. The black represents the color of the people, the red the blood, the green for land, and the yellow is like the pan-African.”