JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Classrooms inside of Emory Johns Creek Hospital were bumping with music as the Johns Creek Art Center’s Artist Guild led a talk from artists displaying their work in its “Women of Color” exhibition on-site.
The Black History Month celebration, segueing into Women’s History Month, signaled the first-time collaboration between the Artist Guild and Sistagraphy, a Decatur-based photography collective founded 30 years ago, exclusively composed of women of color.
The Artist Guild has showcased its work at the hospital for years. The group also has work hanging in Johns Creek City Hall and will have another exhibition at the Gwinnett County Historic Courthouse in the summer.
The group, consisting of more than 30 members, serves the Arts Center by facilitating exhibitions on and off-site, assisting with special events, and acting as an ambassador.
Monika Mittal, president of the Artist Guild, introduced several artists to describe their work as well as herself, whose acrylic paintings are often symbolic whether it be of a feather for freedom or droplets, alluding to a lesson she learned from her mother.
“I learned from my mom that every drop makes the bucket full,” Mittal said.
Sistagraphy Executive Director Furery Terriy Reid spoke of the stories behind her photographs. One titled “Stand for Justice” shows a group of people holding onto a white cross during a commemoration ceremony for the Chattahoochee Brick Company. Written on the cross were the names of those who worked there.
According to the Georgia Trust of Historic Preservation, the site is known for its extensive use of convict leasing where hundreds of African American inmates were forced to work in harsh conditions, a system some call “slavery by another name.”
Reid said the descendants of the laborers recently acquired the land after the City of…
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