Clark Atlanta University Art Museum preserves a remarkable collection born from an era when Black artists were routinely excluded from mainstream institutions, making the museum as much a story about building our own spaces as it is about the art itself. This one requires some history.In 1942, artist and Atlanta University professor Hale Woodruff established an annual juried exhibition specifically for Black artists.

Why? Because mainstream American art institutions weren't exactly opening their doors. The Atlanta University Annuals continued until 1970, attracting 900 artists. The university purchased 291 works from those exhibitions, creating the foundation of what became an extraordinary permanent collection of 20th-century African American art. Today, the museum's holdings total more than 1,200 objects.

Read that again. When somebody else's institution wouldn't validate Black artists, Atlanta University helped build an institution that would. That's Atlanta. And then there's Hale Woodruff himself. His monumental Art of the Negro murals remain inside Trevor Arnett Hall, presenting a sweeping visual narrative connecting African history, culture and the African Diaspora. Admission is currently free and the museum is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, with appointments also available.