“True Grit” Exhibition by Nekisha Durrett
Sept. 7-Oct. 15
Artist Talk by Nekisha Durrett: Sept. 7, 5 p.m.
True Grit Opening Reception: Sept. 7, 6-7:30 p.m.

Gallery hours: T-Sa / 11-5

The Duke Gallery of Fine Art is excited to open the 2022-2023 academic year with Nekisha Durrett's immersive exhibition, “True Grit.” Rooted in Durrett's experiences as a Washington D.C. native, “True Grit” honors the process of place-making in opposition to the colonial forces of dispossession and extraction. Monumental text panels, encrusted with the soil of the Brookland neighborhood in which she grew up, spell out "Watch Me Bless This House" across the gallery wall.
Inverting the association of true grit with the macho swagger and "frontier justice" associated with the Western film of the same title, Durrett instead venerates the strength of family matriarchs who heal, bless and build lives. “True Grit” invokes the red clay of the U.S. South as the familiar backdrop to many African American experiences. Creating monuments to the power of memory, Durrett engages in storytelling and a poetic study of language.