The Warmth of Other Suns
Stories of Global Displacement
The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement presents 75 historical and contemporary artists—from the United States as well as Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, UK, Vietnam, and more—whose work poses urgent questions around the experiences and perceptions of migration and the current global refugee crisis.
Through installations, videos, paintings, and documentary images, The Warmth of Other Suns explores both real and imaginary geographies, reconstructing personal and collective tales of migration. Overlaying historical experiences of migration to and within the United States with the current plight of refugees around the world, the exhibition brings together a multitude of voices and exposes the universality of migration as an experience shared by many. The exhibition also focuses on how artists bear witness to both historical events and more subtle shifts in cultural landscapes.
Borrowing a line from author Richard Wright (1908–1960), and sharing its title with Isabel Wilkerson’s award-winning book on the Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns is anchored by an important reference to the decades-long exodus of over six million African Americans from the brutality and discrimination that ruled the American South. Selections from Jacob Lawrence’s powerful Migration Series (1940-41), a cornerstone of The Phillips Collection, will be among the historical works featured in the show.
The Warmth of Other Suns is curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Natalie Bell in partnership with the New Museum, New York, and based on the exhibition The Restless Earth, which was shown at the Triennale in Milan in 2017.
The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Julien Devaux, Felix Blume, Ivan Boccara, Abbas Benheim, Fundación Montenmedio Arte, and children of Tangier and Tarifa, Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River (Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco-Spain) (still) (2008)
Griselda San Martin, The Wall (2015-16)
Adrian Paci, Centro de permanenza temporanea (Temporary Detention Center) (still), 2007
Arshile Gorky, The Artist and His Mother (c.1926-42)
Jack Delano, Group of Florida migrants on their way to Cranberry, New Jersey, to pick potatoes near Shawboro, North Carolina (1940)
Liu Xiaodong, Refugees 4 (2015)
Aliza Nisenbaum, MOIA’s NYC Women’s Cabinet (2016)
Alighiero Boetti, Mappa, 1972
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
The exhibition is organized by The Phillips Collection in partnership with the New Museum in New York.
Generous support provided by Betsy Williams and Tom Moore, George Vradenburg and The Vradenburg Foundation, The Marion F. Goldin Charitable Fund, Lindsay and Henry Ellenbogen, Robert Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, Carolyn S. Alper, Mirella and Dani Levinas, and Toni and Ron Paul.
With funding provided by Beatriz Margarita Bolton, Susan and Dixon Butler, The Paula Ballo Dailey Memorial Fund, Carol Brown Goldberg and Henry H. Goldberg, Bonnie and Harold Himmelman, Joe and Lynne Horning, Micheline Klagsbrun and Ken Grossinger and The CrossCurrents Foundation, Howard and Stephanie Krass, The Estate of Jack Rachlin, Eric Richter, Alan and Irene Wurtzel, and Judy and Leo Zickler.
Additional support provided by Nancy and Charles Clarvit, Barbara and Bob Hall, Scott Spector and Sandra Masur, A. Fenner Milton, Alice Phillips Swistel and Daniel Swistel, and Tom and Claudia Henteleff.
Participants
- Adel Abdessemed
- Chantal Akerman
- John Akomfrah
- Paweł Althamer
- Francis Alÿs
- El Anatsui
- Benny Andrews
- Guillermo Arias
- Siah Armajani
- Kader Attia
- Yto Barrada
- Hannelore Baron
- John Berger and Jean Mohr
- Alighiero Boetti
- Anna Boghiguian
- Andrea Bowers
- Frank Bowling
- Tania Bruguera
- Beverly Buchanan
- Vija Celmins
- Phil Collins
- Honoré Daumier
- Jack Delano
- La Domenica del Corriere
- Meschac Gaba
- Guillermo Galindo
- Yun Gee
- Arshile Gorky
- Rokni Haerizadeh, Ramin Haerizadeh, and Hesam Rahmanian
- Zarina Hashmi
- Mona Hatoum
- Lewis Wickes Hine
- Khaled Jarrar
- Hiwa K
- Yasmine Kabir
- Šejla Kamerić
- Yasuo Kuniyoshi
- Runo Lagomarsino
- Dorothea Lange
- Jacob Lawrence
- Zoe Leonard
- Glenn Ligon
- Liu Xiaodong
- John Moore
- Paulo Nazareth
- Giusi Nicolini
- Aliza Nisenbaum
- Lydia Ourahmane
- Erkan Özgen
- Adrian Paci
- Marwan Rechmaoui
- Diego Rivera
- Mark Rothko
- Cameron Rowland
- Griselda San Martin
- Hrair Sarkissian
- William Edouard Scott
- Augustus Sherman
- Xaviera Simmons
- Bosco Sodi
- Mounira Al Solh
- John Sonsini
- Alfred Stieglitz
- Hamid Sulaiman
- Mario Tama
- Pascale Marthine Tayou
- Wolfgang Tillmans
- Hương Ngô and Hồng-Ân Trương
- Undocumented Migration Project
- Andra Ursuţa
- Rodrigo Valenzuela
- Danh Vō
- Nari Ward
- Henk Wildschut
Beyond the Museum Walls
All the world contributes to our spiritual and creative resources since all the world is contained in our United States.—Duncan Phillips, 1944
In the spirit of museum founder Duncan Phillips, The Phillips Collection values the diversity of our country. Here are some organizations actively involved in supporting immigrant and refugee communities around the world.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Immigration Council
International Rescue Committee
Migration Policy Institute
National Immigration Law Center
Pew Research Center
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES)
Refugee Council USA
Refugees International
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants