Explore Alabama Folk Art In The Rooted In History Exhibition | Alternative Fruit

Life In The Thicket by Tracie Noles-Ross

​Huntsville residents will be aware of the Harrison Brother's Hardware building on Courthouse Square. This hub of arts, crafts, and community with an intriguing name is hosting the latest showing of genuine folk-art from the Alabama area. The collection made up of work mostly from black artists is drawing in the crowds who want to get a glimpse of their own soul.


The old hardware store that was built in the 19th Century is the ideal location to host this extraordinary amalgamation of thoroughbred home-grown art. Drawing on local symbolism and stories, plus bringing in a host of new experiences from recent times, the 21st Century exhibition demonstrates how the locale has evolved and grown as a society.


Because of recent events, a lot of the work on offer shows relevance to Covid-19. One poignant image comes from Tracie Noles-Ross from Birmingham (AL) which shows a woman wearing an untied mask while being perched on by a bird. Freedom and restriction and feelings we've all had to chew over in recent months.


The submissions came from all walks of Alabama life, and artists came from every room. There were college artists with degrees, engineers who work with materials, people who just do art, and people who have never even taken a class. This multi-dimensional approach gave the curators exactly what they were looking for with a broad scope of intention and creation being displayed in one setting. A snap-shot of the local area in one room, all the voices of Alabama are speaking through pictures.

Visit Harrison Brother's Hardware online

Story source: Al.com
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"American Gothic," one of the pieces of folk art on display at Harrison Brothers Hardware in Huntsville, shows Alabama singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and his wife, singer-songwriter Amanda Shires as new characters in the classic scene. The painting is by Sonya Clemons of Scottsboro. Al.com

You can visit Sonya Clemons on Instagram