ArtBreak: Sacred Imagination in Wall to Wall

Name: ArtBreak: Sacred Imagination in Wall to Wall
Start: 2026-06-03T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-06-03T12:30:00-05:00
Location: 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Blvd, Birmingham, AL, United States, Alabama 35203

Schedule

Wed Jun 03 2026 at 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

2000 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Blvd, Birmingham, AL, United States, Alabama 35203 | Birmingham, AL

Drop by the Birmingham Museum of Art for a midday ArtBreak with Viola Ratcliffe as she explores the presence of surreal and sacred imagery in "Wall to Wall." Using Antoine Williams’s mural "The Harvesters" as a point of departure, Ratcliff examines how Black artists create space for spiritual imagination and interior worlds through their practice. Drawing from Zora Neale Hurston’s reflections on Mother Catherine Seals, she weaves connections to the work and legacies of Joe Minter, Harriet Powers, Erin Mitchell, and the writings of Imani Perry.
Viola Ratcliffe is an arts administrator, educator, and quilt historian and serves as Senior Director of Creative Enterprises at Create Birmingham. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, she holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of Alabama and an M.A. in Art History from Bowling Green State University. With more than a decade of experience in the creative sector, she has worked with institutions including the Birmingham Museum of Art, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Troy University Rosa Parks Museum, Minnetrista Museum and Gardens, and Bib & Tucker Sew-Op. As a quilt historian, she preserves and shares fabric narratives of resilience, identity, and activism to inspire dialogue and strengthen collective memory.