More than 20 North Texas collectors have opened up their private art collections for a new exhibition at the Fort Worth African American Museum and Cultural Center, pulling paintings and sculptures off living room walls and putting them on public display. The show, called These Walls Speak, brings together 55 works spanning nine decades of Black creativity and will remain on view through Jan. 17, 2027.
According to Fort Worth Report, the exhibition marks a milestone for the young museum: it is the first show compiled entirely by the institution itself, as noted by FWTX. FWTX also reports the show is composed of 55 works by 46 artists drawn from 21 collectors, and that it opened Oct. 17 and runs through Jan. 17, 2027. The pieces, per the same outlet, were sourced straight out of living rooms across the Dallas-Fort Worth area rather than from institutional archives.
Among the lenders is Renee Higginbotham Brooks, who has collected Black art for decades and contributed four paintings to the show by John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Frank Frazier and Jacob Lawrence. “I consider it a great honor to have the opportunity to participate with others in the exposition of significant African artists and their works, which are a very important part of American culture,” Brooks said, according to the Fort Worth Report's reporting. Other featured collectors named in the same report include Sundance Square owners Sasha and Edward P. Bass, Tarrant Regional Water District president Leah King, and Fort Worth council member Deborah Peoples.
Curators Jury Art Inside Collectors' Homes
Curators Andrew Walker and Arlene Barnett juried the artworks inside collectors' homes before selecting which pieces would make the final display, the Fort Worth Report's reporting states. Walker, who previously led the Amon Carter Museum of American Art for 14 years and now serves as the museum's consulting art director, said the collectors see Black creativity as a foundation for community expression — sometimes personal, sometimes social. The exhibition includes works by artists Evita Tezeno, Sedrick Huckaby and Kehinde Wiley, who painted President Barack Obama's official portrait. Huckaby's piece Funeral Procession #1, owned by collector Maryellen Hicks, is among the works on display.
Museum board president John L. Barnett Jr. said highlighting these collectors showcases local interest in acquiring African American art, and that the exhibition is designed to inspire others to collect Black art as well. He also framed the show, per FWTX, as a way of honoring the people who saw the value in this work before the market or the institutions caught up. Prominent lenders named by FWTX also include former Fort Worth Community Arts Center director Marla Owen, alongside Peoples, the Barnetts, and the Basses.
Volunteer Staffing Means Limited Hours
Open hours vary at the museum because it is currently staffed entirely by volunteers, the Fort Worth Report notes, and the museum board of directors is searching for a part-time executive director. The museum, located at 3100 E. Rosedale St. according to the Fort Worth Report, is scheduled to be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, and noon to 5 p.m. on Nov. 13. An earlier Fort Worth Report piece on the museum's debut described the address as 3104 E. Rosedale St., across from Texas Wesleyan University, while the Star-Telegram has referred to the site as spanning 3100-3104 E. Rosedale St.
The museum opened in mid-June with a joint art show held in collaboration with the upcoming National Juneteenth Museum and the nearby Kinfolk House, according to the Fort Worth Report's earlier coverage. That debut exhibition featured mixed-media works, paintings and photographs from 11 North Texas artists and was displayed at both the African American museum and Kinfolk House, the outlet reported. The National Juneteenth Museum itself is slated to rise at the Southside Community Center at 959 E. Rosedale St., per the Star-Telegram, part of a broader wave of African American cultural projects taking shape in the area. The same report notes the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing is scheduled for construction in 2027 at 1012 N. Main St.
These Walls Speak is slated to remain open to the public through noon-to-6 p.m. hours on Nov. 14, Nov. 21 and Nov. 28, giving visitors several more chances this fall to see the collection before it closes in January. Fort Worth Report's arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust.
