This Fort Worth art exhibit shows the perspective of the Black American cowboy
An art exhibit that tells the true story of the American cowboy, from the perspective of the Black cowboy, opens this weekend.
The 400h Gallery, at 400 Houston St. in downtown Fort Worth, will host “Cowboy Noire: Artwork of the Original Cowboy,” a gallery that challenges the erasure of Black people in cowboy culture and reclaims that history, according to Kelsha Reese, the exhibit’s curator.
An opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 7. The exhibit will run until March 22. There will be an artist talk on Feb. 21, with the time will be announced at a later date.
Reese grew up in the Stop Six neighborhood in east Fort Worth, where people had horses in their backyards, she said. Her stepfather owned horses, her grandfather owned a ranch, and as a child, she learned to draw by sketching horses. She recently watched a documentary produced by director Jordan Peele, “High Horse: The Black Cowboy,” about the heritage and culture of Black cowboys in the American West, and knew she had to tell her own stories and the stories of others.
“I learned about the erasure of our presence in that culture, and I felt like that was a really important story to tell, especially in Fort Worth,” Reese said.
She planned the gallery to coincide with the beginning of Black History Month and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. There will be over 40 works by 24 Black artists in the gallery.
The name “Cowboy Noire” was inspired by an annual fashion show she attended during her time at Texas Tech University, called “Noir.” Students wore Black to celebrate Black people and fashion. It was her first time hearing the word, and she wanted to use it in her own show.
Reese added the “e” at the end of noir for a feminine undertone to show the presence of Black cowgirls.
One of the artists represented will be Milagro Baines. She primarily works in crochet art and will have her pieces, “His & Her,” which is her take on a Black revolutionary couple and their opposing outlook on what it means to be a Black revolutionary.
For her, the exhibit will convey a sense of pride and strength in one’s culture, as well as various ways Black people view what it means to be a cowboy.
“When it comes to the Black story here in America, it is not very accurate,” Baines said. “And so having that ability for this particular show that involves Black artists to tell the story of the cowboy from their mouths and from their creative lens, I think, is very much needed.”
