The title of this exhibition comes from a phrase used by Martin Luther King at a college rally: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” In the 1950s and 60s, amid the Civil Rights uprisings in the American South, African-American artists created vibrant sculptures, assemblages, and quilts that spoke of struggle and stoicism. In these works, many comprised of found and salvaged materials, a sense of place, heritage, and history powerfully resides. This exhibition, the first of its kind in the U.K, includes the work of 20 artists, among them Nellie Mae Rowe, Thorton Dial, Emmer Sewell, Ralph Griffin, and Mary Lee Bendolph. —E.C.

We Will Walk: Art and Resistance in the American South
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Turner Contemporary / Margate / Art
Turner Contemporary / Margate / Art
Emmer Sewell, “Porch.” Photo: Hannah Collins.
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