February 1, 2025 - April 10, 2025

The Beach Institute African American Cultural Center proudly presents Roots and Realities, a powerful art exhibit exploring the Gullah Geechee people's vibrant culture and untold stories. Featuring the works of renowned artists Amiri Farris and Isaac McCaslin, the exhibit invites audiences to reflect on the beauty of resilience while honoring the tragedies that have shaped history.

Amiri Farris’s vivid, dynamic pieces pulse with the rhythm of Gullah Geechee life, capturing the brilliance of their traditions and the resilience of their spirit. In stark contrast, Isaac McCaslin’s black-and-white series, The Tragedy at Ebenezer Creek, lays bare the sorrow of lives lost in a long-buried historical atrocity. The massacre at Ebenezer Creek, a dark chapter of the Civil War, shook the nation when news of it reached Savannah, playing a pivotal role in the landmark "40 Acres and a Mule" meeting at the Green-Meldrim House.

Together, their works embody the alchemy of resilience—how the deep roots of memory and ancestral connection can transmute suffering into something enduring, where pain becomes purpose and tragedy gives rise to culture, as vividly reflected in the luminous hues of Amiri Farris’s paintings.

Celebrating our cultural heritage through art inspired by our gardens.

10.10.2024-01.28.2025

Local artists submitted artwork inspired by our gardens, which grow plants related to African Diaspora foodways. This exhibit features work by Savannah Arts Academy teacher Napoleon Wilkerson nd his former student Brooks Davis II. Also showing pieces are Panhandle Slim, Isaac McCaslin, Jake Stephens, Thao Hong, and more!