"Willie Birch: Stories to Tell" Retrospective at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, May 5 - October 21, 2026

[Fort Gansevoort]

Willie Birch, Memories of the '60s,1992. Painted papier-mâché, canvas, and mixed media, figure: 52 x 25 x 30 in; quilt: 94.5 x 81.5 in, Courtesy Willie Birch Studio; Photo: Sesthasak Boonchai Willie Birch: Stories to Tell at the California African American Museum Los Angeles, May 5 - October 21, 2026 Fort Gansevoort is excited to share that beginning May 5, 2026, the California African American Museum will present the first comprehensive retrospective for acclaimed New Orleans-based artist Willie Birch with Willie Birch: Stories to Tell. The first-ever career retrospective of renowned artist Willie Birch, this exhibition brings together groundbreaking works from 1968 to the present that chronicle his unique vision of Black American life and the interconnected nature of global art forms. Born and raised in New Orleans and trained in Europe, Baltimore, and New York, Birch often speaks about “retentions,” a term he uses to describe evidence of one culture’s narratives and traditions within another. Throughout his career, Birch has explored particularly how African traditions have been retained in music, art, and culture in America as part of the Black experience and beyond. The exhibition is organized chronologically, beginning with Birch’s work in the late 1960s, continuing through his shift toward papier-mâché in the 1980s, and closing with his more recent large-scale charcoal and acrylic works on paper. Through his work across decades, as an artist, community organizer, and cultural provocateur, Birch questions why certain things are retained and others not, unearthing uncomfortable truths about American identity, but also offering possibilities for greater cultural awareness, aesthetic innovation, and expansiveness in the stories we tell. Related programming: Spring 2026 Reception, Wednesday, May 6th, 2026, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. In Conversation: Willie Birch and Russell Lord, Thursday, May 7th, 2026, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Touring schedule: California African American Museum (CAAM) Los Angeles, California May 5, 2026 - October 21, 2026 New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) New Orleans, Louisiana March 20, 2027 - September 5, 2027 Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida October 28, 2027 - May 14, 2028 Hudson River Museum Yonkers, New York September 22, 2028 - January 14, 2029 CAAM contacts: Shaquille Heath, intern...@suttoncomms.com, (801) 920-8829 Ashley Harris, communi...@caamuseum.org, (559) 261-5174 For further inquiries please contact: Andrea Schwan, Andrea Schwan Inc., and...@andreaschwan.com, (917) 371-5023 Maggie Dougherty, mag...@fortgansevoort.com, (917) 639-3113 Willie Birch: Stories to Tell is sponsored by Bank of America. This exhibition is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Major support for the exhibition and catalogue is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Significant support for the catalogue is provided by Wyeth Foundation for American Arts. Additional support has been provided by Monique Schoen Warshaw and Fort Gansevoort. Willie Birch, Martin Luther King, McDonald's, and Miami's Burning, 1989, Graphite and gouache on paper with acrylic painted papier-mâché frame, 44.5 x 56.5 x 1.75 in

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