exhibitions

Seattle Art Museum

Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams

Oct 17 2024–Jan 19 2025

Seattle Art Museum

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*Dead Albino Boy for Sale*, from the series *Flayed Tanzanian Albinos*, 2021-22, Joyce J. Scott, American, b. 1948, glass and plastic beads, thread, and wire, 31 × 18 × 13 in., Image courtesy of Goya Contemporary Gallery, Baltimore, © Joyce Scott courtesy Goya Contemporary, photo: Mitro Hood.

Step into the visionary world of Joyce J. Scott, celebrated as one of today’s most prolific and boundary-breaking artists. Best known for her virtuosic use of beads and glass, Scott upends hierarchies of art and craft, captivating audiences with beauty, humor, and a fearless exploration of pressing issues like racism, sexism, environmentalism, and complex family dynamics.

Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams features over 150 works from the 1970s to the present, including sculpture, bead work, jewelry, textiles, artwear garments, performance compilations, mixed-media installations, and a new large-scale commission. This summative career retrospective reveals the full breadth of Scott’s utterly unique artistic vision to challenge unequal social roles, confront traumatic histories, and agitate for freedom.

Please note: The artist addresses all aspects of human experience in her work, including racist stereotypes, sexual violence, and the grievous history of lynching.

Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams is co-organized by the Seattle Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art.

This exhibition and national tour are made possible by substantial grants from the Ford Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

National Presenting Sponsors

Seattle Presentation Generously Supported by

Presenting Sponsors

Major Sponsor
Max and Helen Gurvich Exhibition Endowment

Supporting Sponsors
Goya Contemporary Gallery and Martha Macks-Kahn
National Endowment for the Arts

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Scott (b. 1948) learned sewing and beadwork from her mother, artist Elizabeth Talford Scott (1916–2011). She considers these skills her inheritance, connecting her to traditions carried by enslaved people from Africa to the Americas.

Throughout her life, she has traveled around the world, studying, connecting with people, and making art inspired by what she sees and experiences—including to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, where she has made work at Pilchuck Glass School.

But she’s always returned to her home to nurture her community in Baltimore. When she walks around the neighborhood where she lives and works, everyone knows her and shouts greetings and conversation. Her ethos of building community with shared learning is foundational to her work.

Beguiling

*Three Generation Quilt I*, 1983, Joyce J. Scott.

Awe-inspiring

*Coppers (detail)*, 2023, Joyce J. Scott.

Boundary pushing

*No Mommy Me II*, from the series *Mammy/Nanny*, 1991, Joyce J. Scott.

Storytelling

*Peeping Redux* (necklace), 2013, Joyce J. Scott.

Radical

*Man Eating Watermelon*, 1986, Joyce J. Scott.

Fearless

Revelatory

*Spirit Siamese Twins*, 2000-02, Joyce J. Scott.

Genre-defying

*Buddha Gives Basketball to the Ghetto*, 1991, Joyce J. Scott.

Captivating

*War Woman III*, 2014/2019, Joyce J. Scott.

The ancient technologies of needle and thread

A gallery in the exhibition is devoted to a collaborative weaving room, allowing everyone to gather and create a large-scale woven artwork together. An instructional video, signage, and materials will help guide visitors as they add their own contribution—no experience needed!

Joyce J. Scott teaching in Baltimore’s Artists-in-Schools program, ca. late 1970s. Image courtesy of the Joyce J. Scott Archive

Resources

Bibliography

Related events

Seattle Art Museum

Joyce J. Scott Public Tour

Sun Dec 22 2024

1:15–2:15 pm

Seattle Art Museum

Joyce J. Scott Public Tour

Sat Dec 28 2024

1:15–2:15 pm

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Creates: Joyce J. Scott Drop-in Workshop

Sat Jan 11 2025

11 am–2 pm

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Creates: Joyce J. Scott Drop-in Workshop

Sat Jan 18 2025

11 am–2 pm

Seattle Art Museum

1300 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

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Explore the Smartphone Tour

In this podcast-style guide, Joyce J. Scott discusses her work and the exhibition’s key themes with seven of her friends, reflecting on her journey, processes, and artistic influences.

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SAM Soundtracks

The artist sets the scene with a playlist of personally selected songs that inspire her and are inspired by her wide-ranging practice. Available on Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music.

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Conversation Guide

This guide for grown-ups visiting with kids, available online and in the galleries, offers a resource for exploring the more challenging themes of Scott’s art as well as her work’s beauty and joy. Produced by the Baltimore Museum of Art.

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Become a SAM member and enjoy free admission, member-only programs, discounts at SAM Shop, and more!

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All works ©️ Joyce Scott courtesy Goya Contemporary. Man Eating Watermelon, 1986, Collection of Paul Daniel and Linda DePalma, photo: Mitro Hood. Spirit Siamese Twins, 2000-02, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Mary B. Jackson Fund, photo: Erik Gould. Coppers, 2023, photo: Mitro Hood. Mammy/Penis, 2011, Collection of Hillary Belzer and Glenn Dellon, photo: Mitro Hood. No Mommy Me II, from the series Mammy/Nanny, 1991, Collection of Madeline Murphy Rabb, Chicago, photo: Mitro Hood. Buddha Gives Basketball to the Ghetto, 1991, Courtesy of Private Collection, photo: Dhanraj Emanuel. Three Generation Quilt I, 1983, photo: Joseph Hyde. Peeping Redux (necklace), 2013, Collection of Brenda, Steffen, Helena, and Viggo Jacobsen, Chicago, Image courtesy of Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. War Woman III, 2014/2019, brown glass, beads, thread, wood, found objects, 31 x 9 x 8 in., Seattle Art Museum, Benaroya Glass Art Acquisition Fund and the Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts, 2020.1, photo: Scott Leen.