Charly Palmer Explores The History Of Black Americans And Their African Heritage In Hammonds House Exhibit

A retrospective of works by American artist Charly Palmer comes to the Hammonds House Museum this summer. A fine artist, muralist, and illustrator of children’s books, Palmer’s paintings and mixed media works explore themes of African-American identity. The new exhibition, “Departure,” will show works never before seen by the public, as well as new pieces created expressly for this event. Charly Palmer joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to talk about “Departure” and the multiple meanings of the word, and the history of Black America and African origins told through his art.

Interview highlights:

On the show’s name, ‘Departure,’ and what inspired it:

“The title came from a conversation I had with the previous director at Hammonds House, where I was explaining two particular pieces, ‘Father and Son,’ that I did specifically for the show. And they are shadowboxes, but they come with a soundtrack… and she mentioned, ‘This is quite a departure for you.’ And it was like, ‘You know what, I had not been able to figure out what the name of the show was going to be until you said that,’” recalled Palmer.