Howard University Gallery of Art Executive Director Kathryn E. Coney-Ali Contributes to Major International Exhibition in Germany
By Chad Eric Smith, Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts
Kathryn E. Coney-Ali, executive director of the Howard University Gallery of Art at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, is contributing to a major international exhibition examining the influence of Black artists and intellectuals on modern art across the Atlantic.
Along the Color Line: Traces of a Transatlantic Modernism, on view October 3, 2026, through March 7, 2027, at Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany, is part of the museum's 50th-anniversary celebration. The exhibition explores connections between the international Black diaspora and European modernism, challenging traditional art historical narratives that have frequently overlooked Black artistic contributions.
Coney-Ali is among the contributing authors to the exhibition's accompanying bilingual scholarly catalogue, edited by curator Eboa Itondo. Her participation brings Howard University's scholarly perspective to an international examination of the artistic, intellectual, and cultural exchanges that helped shape modernism.
The Howard University Gallery of Art is also one of the exhibition's principal lending institutions, contributing significant works from its collection. Featured artists include Loïs Mailou Jones, James A. Porter, Horace Pippin, Richard Bruce Nugent, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Romare Bearden, whose works illuminate the diversity and international reach of Black artistic expression.
Among the works on loan are Jones' Jennie (1943) and Paris Rooftops from Montmartre (1966), Porter's Still Life with Fruit (1959), and Bearden's Jazz (Chicago) Grand Terrace Ballroom (1964). The exhibition also features two monumental works by Jacob Lawrence originally commissioned for Howard University's Blackburn Center.
A central theme of the exhibition is the enduring influence of Alain Locke, the renowned Howard University professor, philosopher, and leading intellectual of the Harlem Renaissance. His writings and advocacy helped establish a foundation for understanding Black artistic expression within a global cultural framework. The exhibition connects Locke's intellectual legacy with artistic movements such as the Harlem Renaissance in the United States and Négritude in Europe.
For Coney-Ali, a cultural historian and educator specializing in African and Diaspora Studies, the exhibition aligns with her broader professional work connecting cultural preservation, scholarship, and international engagement.
Her contributions underscore the importance of the Howard University Gallery of Art not only as a steward of historically significant collections but also as an active participant in shaping global conversations about Black art and cultural heritage.
Through Coney-Ali's scholarship and the Gallery's international collaboration, the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts continues to extend Howard University's artistic and intellectual legacy beyond campus, reinforcing the University's historic role in preserving, interpreting, and elevating the contributions of Black artists worldwide.
Learn more: Along the Color Line: Traces of a Transatlantic Modernism — Museum Ludwig
