The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Presents “Sacred Spaces” featuring Jabari Jefferson: A Groundbreaking Exhibition Honoring African American Heritage and Sustainability Opens February 2025

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December 23, 2024

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Presents “Sacred Spaces” featuring Jabari Jefferson: A Groundbreaking Exhibition Honoring African American Heritage and Sustainability Opens February 2025

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND– The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum proudly announces “Sacred Spaces,” Jabari Jefferson’s debut museum exhibition, opening on February 8, 2025. This exhibition will feature never-before-seen works on canvas, striking sculptures, and a large-scale community installation created in collaboration with local Annapolis students and residents. Through his innovative approach to oil paint, mixed media, and augmented reality, Jefferson masterfully transforms salvaged materials, including textiles, books, soil, and clothing, into provocative artworks that challenge our notions of value and disposability. 

This new body of work by Jefferson is a powerful meditation on history, memory, and the continuing power of Black cultural spaces. By drawing parallels between the throwaway culture of fast fashion and the historical marginalization of Black scholarship, Jefferson exposes systematic patterns of devaluation. His practice serves a dual purpose: breathing new life into discarded materials while asserting the fundamental importance of Black intellectual and spiritual traditions. 

“As people lose their land, homes, and livelihoods, and as elders—the custodians of memory, stories, and wisdom—pass on, gaps emerge in our collective record,” says Martina Dodd, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. “In this precarious moment, ‘Sacred Spaces’ emphasizes the urgency of recording, preserving, and engaging with the spaces, objects, and histories that embody sacredness. By honoring places  like the former Mt. Moriah AME Church (now the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum) and the stories they hold, the exhibition calls for collective action to protect and sustain the cultural and historical legacies of Black communities for future generations.”

‘Sacred Spaces’ celebrates African American heritage while advocating for sustainability in art. This exhibition bridges history and innovation, offering Maryland and the broader DMV area a transformative year-long experience.  Chanel C. Johnson, Executive Director of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture that operates the museum shares,”My hope is that our visitors are inspired to learn more about their own family history and Black history in Maryland in its shaping of America.”

‘Sacred Spaces’ Exhibition Highlights:

• Interactive Elements:
  Throughout the exhibition, visitors can engage with Jefferson’s sustainable practices through an Augmented Reality (AR) installation created in collaboration with Baltimore artist Scott Tucker.
• Community Partnerships:
  Community artmaking workshops and collaborations with the youth of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis & BDTM Robinwood Arts Leadership Program will provide unique educational opportunities and strengthen ties to the Maryland community.
• Public Programming:
  Stay tuned for exhibition-related public programming throughout the year that dives into exhibition themes and annual celebrations through engaging and interactive experiences. 

Jabari Jefferson comments regarding his first museum exhibition, “I developed this relationship with the museum starting in 2020, which exposed me to the behind the scenes of Black history and its juxtaposition with racial tension and hyper gentrification. It was essential to collect lived-with material in abundance from Maryland communities in order to create one-of-a-kind artworks that tell stories of overlooked narratives. I am honored to celebrate legacies and be a part of Maryland’s art history!”

Premiere Date: 

• Sacred Spaces Opening Reception & Black History Month Celebration: February 8, 2025, 12:00 PM EST – 4:00 PM EST

Artist Jabari Jefferson

Experience ‘Sacred Spaces’ and witness Jabari Jefferson’s masterful blend of artistry, history, and sustainability. This exhibition promises to be a cornerstone cultural event for 2025, celebrating the enduring legacy of Maryland’s African American communities and redefining what art can achieve. 

About Jabari Jefferson:

Jabari Jefferson (b. 1994) is a Washington, D.C., DMV-based mixed media oil painter whose vibrant works blend painting, sculpture, and found materials such as fabric, paper, books, ink, and paint. His creative process revolves around recycling, repurposing, and recontextualizing discarded items, transforming them into contemporary art. Jefferson collects materials like clothing, children’s books, and other found objects sourced throughout his travels, incorporating them into richly layered compositions of painted figures and mixed media environments. He actively seeks out previously owned items from his surrounding communities, repurposing them into meaningful components that enrich his dynamic palette of materials.

Guided by the belief in the transfer of energy from a material’s previous owners, Jefferson’s work draws inspiration from ritualistic practices. His subject matter explores themes of self-discovery, the African Diaspora, Afro-past and futures, spirituality, mythology, and racial politics. Centering Black subjects, Jefferson’s pieces depict them in solitude as well as within community, surrounded by expressive, abstract, and figurative elements.

With a distinctive maximalist approach, Jefferson seamlessly integrates shapes, landscapes, and recognizable objects, leaving subtle clues to his influences within his dynamic compositions.

About Banneker Douglass Tubman Museum

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum (BDTM) is the state of Maryland’s official museum of African American heritage and culture, operated by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Named for three incredible Marylanders who changed the course of history–Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman–BDTM serves to document, interpret, and promote African American history and culture through thought-provoking exhibitions, engaging public programs, and accessible artifacts and archives for public research, in order to improve the understanding and appreciation of America’s rich cultural diversity for all. Housed in the former Mt. Moriah AME Church, the museum structure was built in 1874 by free and newly emancipated African Americans and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. To learn more, visit http://bdmuseum.maryland.gov. Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

Hours:

Sunday- Monday           CLOSED

Tuesday-Saturday         10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

General Information:

Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum
84 Franklin St, Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel: (410) 216-6180
E-mail: bannekerdouglassmuseum@gmail.com

Media Contact:

Jan Lee
Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Director of Marketing & Communications
Email: Jan.Lee@maryland.gov
Phone: (410) 271-8561

Nia Rice
Publicist for Jabari Jefferson
Email: Nia@serene.biz
Phone: 240-638-6191

For more information, visit bdtmuseum.maryland.gov.

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