CRAVING LIGHT: The Museum of Love and Reckoning

May 16 - July 20, 2024

An exhibition in commemoration of Brown v. Board at 70

CRAVING LIGHT: The Museum of Love and Reckoning considers the legacies of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the 1954 Supreme Court case that declared segregation in schools unconstitutional. Designed as a touring exhibition, the installation's inaugural presentation is at the Mulvane Art Museum.

Over the last year, renowned citizen artist vanessa german has worked with community members to create CRAVING LIGHT. At workshops, site visits, and interviews, Topekans made art and shared their stories with german. She used these materials to create a new body of work that spans media from sculpture to collage to video. The installation embodies stories from the lives of the Brown v. Board plaintiffs and others who were affected by its outcome. CRAVING LIGHT offers an opportunity for each of us to reckon with the past, transform our hearts, and work toward a better future. 

The Mulvane will offer a range of public programs associated with this exhibition, including receptions, creative activities for families, and the premiere of THE WAY OF LIGHT, an original spoken word operetta performed by german and an intergenerational community choir. You can find more information about these events below. We hope you’ll join the Mulvane, vanessa german, and ArtsConnect in this commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board.

Above image: vanessa german, NANCY TODD/ LUCINDA TODD: The Instigator/ love is the gasoline: My Love Language is Fire (detail), 2024. Photo by Jordan Whitten courtesy of vanessa german Studio.