The Old Jail Art Center was preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a gala celebration in March 2020 but all plans were postponed indefinitely due to the Covid pandemic. Coinciding with a grand party, to mark the milestone, were exhibitions thematically and conceptually curated specifically for the museum’s anniversary. Fast forward two years and the celebration was rescheduled for February 2022. Though the party could be (and was) re-tooled, the exhibition calendar had been established well in advance. And yet, by luck or serendipity, the three exhibits scheduled to debut were actually a perfect fit for recognizing 40 years of the institution and its exhibitions.
Fort Worth artist Chris Powell created a fantastic installation of his work in the OJAC Cell Series titled then now. Powell was one of the first young Texas contemporary artists that founder Reilly Nail selected to exhibit at the OJAC in the late 1980s and whose works entered the OJAC’s permanent collection as well as Nail’s private collection. New York artist Jeffery Brosk was the second artist to participate in the aforementioned Cell Series in 2009. His installation in the museum’s project gallery titled Territory provides a glimpse into his new work in the context of a more minimal space than the 1877 jail cells. Finally, after a hiatus in the storage vault for some six years, the OJAC’s Ancient Americas collection has been reinstalled to draw relationships between the form, function, and beauty of each object.
Powell’s title then now sums up all of the exhibitions during this recognition of now 40+ years of operation. We can celebrate two artists returning home as well as enjoy a fresh look at works that have been a vital part of the permanent collection.
In this manner we can look back at where we were then and celebrate where we are now. Isn’t this the perfect type of homecoming?
Patrick Kelly
Executive Director and Curator