Vanessa German has unveiled a major new installation at the Speed Art Museum titled '…do you remember when you were the sky?', marking the inaugural project of the Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. The exhibition features German’s signature assemblage sculptures, which utilize diverse materials like cowrie shells, quilts, and skateboards to create hybrid figures representing young girls in states of transformation. The body of work is the result of months of community engagement and research into local histories, specifically focusing on the narratives of the Colored Girls Dormitory in Louisville.
This exhibition is significant as it establishes a new model for institutional engagement through the Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program, prioritizing community-rooted research over traditional studio production. By centering obscured Black histories and utilizing sculpture as a 'living archive,' German challenges traditional museum hierarchies and explores the intersections of emancipation, memory, and collective authorship. The project reinforces the Speed Art Museum's commitment to social practice and provides a high-profile platform for German’s spiritual and political inquiry into freedom.