The first-ever career retrospective of renowned artist Willie Birch, this exhibition brings together groundbreaking works from 1968 to the present that chronicle his unique vision of Black American life and the interconnected nature of global art forms. Born and raised in New Orleans and trained in Europe, Baltimore, and New York, Birch often speaks about “retentions,” a term he uses to describe evidence of one culture’s narratives and traditions within another. Throughout his career, Birch has explored particularly how African traditions have been retained in music, art, and culture in America as part of the Black experience and beyond.

The exhibition is organized chronologically and in three major sections, beginning with Birch’s earlier work in the 1970s, continuing through his shift toward papier-mâché in the 1980s, and closing with his more recent large-scale charcoal and acrylic works on paper. Through his work across decades, as an artist, community organizer, and cultural provocateur, Birch questions why certain things are retained and others not, unearthing uncomfortable truths about American identity, but also offering possibilities for greater cultural awareness, aesthetic innovation, and expansiveness in the stories we tell.

Willie Birch: Stories to Tell is sponsored by Bank of America.

The exhibition is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the New Orleans Museum of Art and curated by Russell Lord, Chief of Curatorial Affairs, Norman Rockwell Museum.

Major support for the exhibition and catalogue is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Significant support for the catalogue is provided by Wyeth Foundation for American Arts. Additional support has been provided by Adam Shopkorn.