African-American Art 'Yard Shows' In Alabama Are Becoming Harder To Find

'Yard Shows' Are Becoming Harder To Find: What Are They?
Artist Joe Minter of Birmingham, Alabama at his African Village of conceptual artwork. (Photo by Jane Wooldridge/Miami Herald/MCT via Getty Images)
Artist Joe Minter of Birmingham, Alabama at his African Village of conceptual artwork. (Photo by Jane Wooldridge/Miami Herald/MCT via Getty Images)

The Tin Man sent his regrets.

On a recent trip to Alabama, I’d hoped to visit the artist Charlie Lucas and his rural art environment at Pink Lily, near Montgomery. But the 61-year-old metal craftsman and painter was busy showing at a juried art festival. And besides, he had moved to Selma almost a decade ago and now worked in a warehouse studio.

I had heard conjecture that Joe Minter’s African Village in America might be the last “yard show” in Alabama. At least it seemed to be the last of these African-American art installations to remain inhabited and undisturbed. If that claim were true, I wondered, what had happened to the rest?

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