ZuCot Gallery opened its doors on Friday, July 25, for “Dear Black People…A Love Letter,” the gallery’s first exhibition of 2025, featuring 34 pieces across six artists which included Georgette Baker, Aaron F. Henderson, Charly Palmer, Horace Imhotep, Jamaal Barber, and Michael Reese, in what owner Onaje Henderson calls an “unapologetically Black space.”
The exhibition, which runs through August, showcases works that span past, present and future narratives of Black identity and resilience. Henderson said the show serves as both remembrance and affirmation during challenging times.
“This love letter is specifically designed to take you through as almost a remembrance of who we are, who we’ve always been, no matter what’s going on in this country,” Henderson said. “We’ve always fought. We’ve always been and persevered through all things.”
Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
Mending The Broken Men In Our Communities
The featured artists bring diverse perspectives to themes of Black identity and empowerment. Jamaal Barber’s “Our Boys” series uses woodcut and linoleum prints to focus on Black boys and what they need to become protective members of society. The series includes pieces titled “Our Boys Are Brave” and “Our Boys Need Protection”.
Barber’s work carries deeper intention beyond its visual impact. As he explains in his artist statement, the series is rooted in the belief that “by healing and nurturing Black boys, we begin to mend the broken men in our communities.” The images draw from historical photographs of Black boys across time, uplifted through color, pattern, and texture layered from multiple carved woodblocks.
Reclaiming History
Georgette Baker’s contributions examine historical narratives of survival, including a piece referencing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” that discusses decisions to leave in search of better existence. Henderson said Baker’s work focuses on “the past and reminding us who we are” and what the community has successfully accomplished throughout the years.
Baker’s interpretation of the spiritual extends beyond the familiar melody. As she notes in her artist statement, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” functioned as both a work song that kept up morale during field labor and potentially as coded language referring to escape methods through the Underground Railroad, where “swing low” referenced the position enslaved people lived under.
More Than Just a Song: Aaron F. Henderson’s “Watermelon Man”
Henderson cites the piece “Heading Home,” part of the Watermelon Man narrative by Aaron F. Henderson, as the piece that brings about the most conversation. Even during The Atlanta Voice’s visit to the gallery, pedestrians walking along the sidewalk would stop and take photos through the window. The image features a well-dressed man holding a watermelon as a symbol of reclaiming cultural identity.
Aaron F. Henderson’s work directly confronts racist stereotypes that have persisted for generations. In his artist statement, he explains how the watermelon stereotype became “a demeaning and racist caricature, one rooted in white supremacy” despite watermelon farming actually representing Black entrepreneurship and economic independence after the Civil War. His paintings deliberately reclaim watermelon “as a symbol of liberation, self-sufficiency, and cultural pride,” declaring an end to conformity and shrinking oneself to make others comfortable.
Gallery owner Onaje Henderson echoed this sentiment, explaining that the piece represents “code switching” and taking ownership of cultural symbols without shame. “I’m done doing all that stuff. I’m going to take what’s mine and put it up and carry it with me everywhere I go,” Henderson said. “No longer am I going to put things down to make everybody else feel comfortable.”
Art With Purpose: Horace Imhotep’s ‘Capital Wiz’
Other works like “Capital Wiz” address contemporary political themes, including provocative pieces by artist Horace Imhotep that incorporate imagery of the U.S. Capitol with hidden faces of ancestors striking it down inside a lightning bolt.
Imhotep’s political commentary draws on metaphor and spiritual intervention. In his artist statement, he compares governmental authority to “The Wiz,” suggesting that like the fictional wizard, “our government is propped up by spectacle and machinery, only to be revealed as hollow when the curtain is pulled back.” He calls for divine intervention against deception, writing that “only a divine, ancestral force can topple deception so carefully staged.”
The exhibition also features a uniquely shaped piece depicting James Baldwin in conversation with poet Nikki Giovanni. Artist Charly Palmer created the work to reflect their famous dialogue about relationships within the Black community, using an intimate circular format to emphasize their closeness and the continuing relevance of their discussions
Henderson, who has operated ZuCot Gallery for approximately 15 years, said galleries have a responsibility beyond selling art in times of social upheaval.
“I think it’s our job as creatives, as galleries, to do more than just sell art, but also to answer something that’s so needed,” he said. “So many things out there are so negative, the love letter’s necessary. Just for a community, we need to be community driven as well.”
The gallery will host Black Business Saturday on Aug. 16, featuring local Black-owned businesses, new merchandise, vendors, a DJ and bar as part of Black Business Month activities. Henderson said supporting Black businesses aligns with the exhibition’s themes of community uplift and collective action.
“The only way we’re gonna get through all this time is to support one another,” Henderson said, emphasizing the gallery’s role in ensuring Black businesses thrive in Atlanta.
Henderson emphasized that visitors should leave feeling “extremely positive about what we’ve done, proud of who we are and proud of what we will be and continue to be in the future.” Henderson described the exhibition as a reminder that the Black community has not merely survived historical challenges but thrived through them.
For hours of operation visit: https://www.zucotgallery.com/ .
