Jacob & Zay Johnson
Artist Statement
Jacob Pinney-Johnson is a fifth-generation Kalamazoo resident. Director of Wellness for the Fatherhood Network, he also serves as a local historian and a family memory keeper. Alongside his daughter, Zay Johnson, an aspiring artist, they make up 5-6 generations of Kalamazoo, Michigan residents.
Living in their great-great-grandmother’s heritage home in the historic Vine neighborhood. Together, they work to preserve Kalamazoo’s Black history through the lens of their family and through historic preservation.
Covering a span of over 150 years, this show will highlight American, Michigan, Kalamazoo, and Vine Neighborhood history. Through photographs, paintings, newspaper clippings, writing, and more. Using firsthand sources, this show will highlight African American families, fathers, and resilience despite 250 years of racial terrorism.
Show themes will include MIchigan and kalamazoos connection to the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, Post-Reconstruction, the Great Migration, local Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, up to the present.
Venues
