New work by Soynika Edwards-Bush

In her first museum solo exhibition, Soynika Edwards Bush will throw the doors open on a whole new body of work informed by her lived experience and cultivated over two years as the 2020-2022 Alabama Contemporary Artist In Residence. 

The exhibition title, “Mama, These Look Like Lost Souls” is a direct quote by the youngest of Bush’s four children, made in her studio this year as they watched her work from an air mattress under a blanket pile on the floor of her studio. Soynika’s work sources family photographs, drawing from her memories and direct relationships to create paintings that ultimately blunt the identities of her kin, to make way for a broader conversation about Black identity, Black History, and Black love. “Mama, These Look Like Lost Souls” is an exhibition about what is remembered, what is lost, and what is truly knowable within a human life. 

Soynika Edwards-Bush is a self-taught artist, mother of four, and wife, born and raised in Prichard, AL. Bush is an activist in the most compassionate and complete sense. Her painting work is bolstered by her dogged participation in the community she comes from, ever striving to present new models and find ways to uplift. In addition to outreach with ACAC, Bush works alongside Legacy 166 and the Boys and Girls Club to bring art into the lives of children. Through her work as ACAC’s Artist-In-Residence, Bush has furthered her mission of showing color where there is none, helping to cultivate young artists, and letting art speak what the heart feels.

OPENING DURING DECEMBER ARTWALK

December 9 @ 6 PM

Generous funding for this exhibition and related programming is provided by: