Our Friend, Jean

The Bishop Gallery has curated a 6-Stop HBCU Exhibition Tour showcasing 20+ artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Each artwork is on loan from friends, lovers, and former collaborators of the renowned artist. Arriving on HBCU campuses for the first time ever, this tour aims to give the next generation of Black Artists and Creatives unprecedented access to America's most influential artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Tennessee State University will host “Our Friend, Jean”, from November 9th to November 16th, 2022, in the Hiram Van Gordon Gallery. We will have a reception and conversation on campus Thursday, November 10th, from 4-6 pm. Photographer and Collector Alexis Adler, who also served as a co-curator with Erwin John and Stevenson Dunn, Jr. of The Bishop Gallery, will be on campus to share uniquely intimate stories of their friend Jean.

"Our Friend, Jean" is a sampling of Jean-Michel Basquiat's earliest works on loan from several collectors featuring drawings, writings, apparel, mixed media collages, and ephemera. The group of collectors consists of Jane Diaz, Hilary Jaeger, Katie Taylor, Lucy Sante, Al Diaz, and photographer Alexis Adler.Hennessy and Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), in collaboration with Brooklyn-Based, The Bishop Gallery and Group Black, the largest collective of Black-owned media, will bring the "Our Friend Jean" Exhibition to six Historically Black Colleges and Universities nationwide. The HBCU campus tour of the exhibition includes Hampton University, Howard University, Clark Atlanta University, Tennessee State University, Dillard University, and Texas Southern University.

Hennessy and Thurgood Marshall College Fund Announce partnership with Group Black and The Bishop Gallery to make "America's Most Influential Artist" Accessible to HBCUs / Press Release www.prn.to/3UknJKU and www.ourfriendjeantour.com for more information on “Our Friend, Jean” tour.