Indigo Arts Alliance and Haggerty Museum of Art Present Thresholds
Indigo Arts Alliance and Haggerty Museum of Art Present
Thresholds
An Interdisciplinary Exhibition of Indigo Arts Alliance-Affiliated Artists
in Dialogue with the Haggerty Museum’s Collection
On View August 28 – December 19, 2026
Haggerty Museum of Art
1234 W Tory Hill St, Milwaukee, WI 53233
Aisha Tandiwe Bell, American, b. 1974, Gold and Shadow, 2020, Acrylic, metal leaf, stoneware, cobalt oxide, and glaze on wood, 30 x 40 x 7 in., Courtesy of the artist.
Portland, ME – July 21, 2026 – Opening August 28, 2026, Indigo Arts Alliance is pleased to announce Thresholds, an interdisciplinary exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art. Thresholds features works by Indigo Arts Alliance artists Aisha Tandiwe Bell and Stephen Hamilton; Indigo community supporter Portia Cobb; and Indigo co-founder Daniel Minter. On view through December 19, 2026, the exhibition places contemporary works by the artists in dialogue with works from the Haggerty Museum’s African collection.
“It’s meaningful to see the work of artists affiliated with Indigo Arts Alliance together in this context,” said Jordia Benjamin, Executive Director of Indigo Arts Alliance. “We were delighted to collaborate on Thresholds, as it reflects the kinds of artistic conversations we hope to foster through our residency program. This is life beyond the time in residency with us and how we continue to engage with our alumni.”
Thresholds explores the depth, complexity, and resilience of Black cultural memory. In tandem with the works in the Haggerty Museum’s collection – selected by the artists in consultation with Henry John Drewal, inaugural member of Indigo Arts Alliance’s Advisory Circle – the works create a “call and response,” a participatory exchange in which one voice calls out and others answer in turn. Building on a shared yet continually unfolding cultural memory, where the past remains active and unresolved, these practices become sites of inspiration, critical reflection, and renewal.
Aisha Tandiwe Bell is a multimedia artist who explores her own diasporic identity as something plural and always in process, giving form to the many selves and masks that Black women carry. Portia Cobb creates videos, photography, and mixed media works rooted in her Gullah Geechee maternal heritage by gathering oral histories and rites that resist what she calls “forced forgetting.” Stephen Hamilton weaves, dyes, and carves by hand using methods he studied in Nigeria, building monumental painted textiles grounded in Yorùbá thought that reclaim craft knowledge. Daniel Minter carves and assembles wood, metal, and found objects within Black Atlantic spiritual traditions, describing his art as a “technology” for reaching ancestral strength and knowledge.
A talk with the artists and exhibition preview will be held Wednesday, September 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 10 from 6-7pm.
For more information, please visit the Haggerty Museum of Art’s website for a schedule of free artist conversations, engaging lectures, community days, and more. All events, festivities, and educational programs will be listed with details and registration information on the Museum’s Events page.
Support for this exhibition is generously provided in part by Lilly Endowment Inc.
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About Indigo Arts Alliance
Addressing the underrepresentation of Black and Brown artists–Maine-based and world-wide–IAA is an arts incubator in Portland, Maine that provides space for dialogue and exchange between artists of African descent and other communities of color through a multidisciplinary artist-in-residency program that embodies a Black-led approach to creativity, community-building, and mentoring. Artists come from a wealth of cultural heritages and multiple countries: African American/US, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Trinidad.
The organization is rooted in two principles: that art is a key resource for healthy human communities that should be cultivated and celebrated, and that artists play a unique role in strengthening our multiracial democracy. Actively contributing to the Global Black Arts Movement, Indigo Arts Alliance brings its principles to life through collaborations with national and international galleries, museums, and other venues, featuring exhibitions and performances by its AIRs, while also curating symposia and other community engagement activities.
About The Haggerty Museum of Art
The Haggerty Museum of Art is located on the campus of Marquette University, adjacent to downtown Milwaukee in the heart of the Near West Side. FREE and open to the public Monday through Saturday, the Haggerty is one of the most accessible arts venues in the city.
The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is a place where art and ideas come alive—free of charge and open to all. Through innovative exhibitions, arts education experiences, and thought-provoking public programs, the museum invites both the university campus and the broader Milwaukee community to discover, question, and connect.
Working with regional and national artists, collaborating with distinguished faculty across all disciplines, partnering with community organizations, and advancing collections inquiry, the Haggerty Museum is a vital forum for dialogue—to spark reflection, inspire action, and encourage positive change for the greater good.
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For images, further background, or interviews, please contact:
Katrina Stewart
Account Manager, Visual Arts
Blue Medium
T: +1-212-675-1800
katrina@bluemedium.com