Derrick Adams' Sanctuary represents a road trip of a different kind. I'd never heard of The Negro Motorist Green Book, an annual guidebook published from 1936-1967 for black Americans during the Jim Crow era. This guide was essential to safe travels for road trippers in finding businesses that were welcoming to black Americans, including hotels, restaurants and even gas stations.
These 50 works of mixed-media collage, assemblage on wood panels, and sculpture inform and challenge the viewer to explore yet another element of ordinary life taken for granted by those with white privilege. More importantly, it inspires viewers to think beyond to a world in which equality can truly be achieved. The depiction of black America at leisure is a theme of continued interest to Adams, who explores how engaging in leisure as a form of relaxation and reflection can be a political act when embraced by members of black or working-class communities.