Hope McMath - It Was All Yellow - Art Museum Director, Artist, Activist

A descendant of slave owners, former museum director, Hope
McMath, spent 23 years at Jacksonville's venerable Cummer Museum
of Art. Her abrupt exit five years ago resulted from "push back"
against the 2016 exhibit “LIFT: Contemporary Expressions of the
African American Experience,” consisting  of work by 10
local artists inspired by the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,”
considered the national anthem of black America. Leading up to
the LIFT exhibition, McMath describes her drive to move the
needle for social progress in her Deep South community, "I
started waking up every day obsessed, and it really was an
obsession, with how to use my seat of privilege, both as a white
woman and as somebody leading one of our largest cultural
institutions ... how to use that to create progress within the
city that is my home.” For many in positions of power, the
discomfort of facing their community's hard racial truths was
simply too much. Hope's willingness to speak truth to power cost
her her dream job but liberated her to open The Yellow House, a
place "where art + action creates change." The space serves as a
catalyst for personal and collective growth, presenting
thought-provoking exhibitions, hosting public events, and
promoting community dialogue about racial and gender equity,
universal human rights, environmental sustainability, and the
untold stories of people and neighborhoods that have shaped our
history. Yellow House is more than a physical space; it is a hub
for educational outreach and collaborations among artists,
writers, organizations, and communities. Hope is a much-needed
force for good, a cultural leader, educator, formidable artist,
and activist whose knowledge of, and passion for, the arts is
matched by a strong commitment to social justice.
Photo credit: Tiffany Manning & Arbus Magazine 


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