By Shana Thornton
Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions exhibition is a celebration of Black joy and culture. The exhibition at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center kicked off with a reception in May, during which both Joe Pitts, Clarksville’s City Mayor, and Wes Golden, the Montgomery County Mayor, both welcomed the artists whose work is in the exhibition and the co-curators, Karlota Contreras-Koterbay and Carlton Wilkinson. An impressive turnout for the reception, the exhibition has continued to bring crowds to the Customs House Museum for viewing. The latest event connected to the exhibit, took place on 10 July Art Walk and included a panel discussion and a musical performance by Giovanni Rodriguez & Friends. The panel discussion featured panelists Carlton Wilkinson, Samuel Dunson, Christine Roth, and Gary L. White. The panel was moderated by Karlota Contreras-Koterbay and the Customs House Museum’s Curator of Exhibits, Terri Jordan.
Some of the Exhibiting Artists from Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions.
Panelists
The arts have played a major role in Samuel Dunson’s life since his youth. He was fortunate enough to be born into a household where exposure to the arts was as important as academic study. Samuel’s fine arts began at Tennessee State University. Early in his academic and artistic pursuit, Samuel chose to concentrate on 3D works, but soon thereafter he moved towards painting and drawing. Upon receiving his BS in Studio Art, he searched and found representation for his paintings. From his exhibition record and portfolio, he gained admission into the Savannah College of Art and Design under a Presidential Fellowship award. After two successful years, he received an MFA in painting. Samuel now exhibits his paintings in group and solo shows on a regular basis. His works have been reported and critiqued in art journals and newspapers alike. Samuel teaches painting, drawing and 2D design, as well as Art Appreciation at Tennessee State University. He has been employed by the University since 2000.
Christine Roth is a ceramic artist based in Clarksville, Tennessee, where she has lived for the past 20 years. A proud member of a military family, Christine served in the U.S. Army for six years. Her artistic journey has been shaped by her life experiences, including a formative two-year residency in South Korea. It was there that she received her first Korean pottery pension and deepened her appreciation for traditional ceramic techniques and cultural aesthetics. Christine now works out of her personal studio in Clarksville, where she creates a range of functional and sculptural ceramics. Her work often reflects the intersections of discipline, tradition, and storytelling inspired by her military background and international experiences. In addition to her studio practice, she shares her passion for pottery through teaching at the Clay Lady Artist’s Campus in Nashville.
Gary L. White, a native of Nashville, received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in Ceramics and his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Watkins College of Art and Design. Since then, his works have been included in solo shows and group exhibitions throughout the country. White conducts a cross-cultural visual investigation that explores folkways, identity, and the experiences of the “southern Other.” White is the College of Art’s first Belmont Faculty Fellow teaching ceramics. His work is inspired by the rich complex history of the American South from the perspective of a multi-ethnic southern experience. His work pays homage to the past and celebrates the present. He gathers inspiration from histories, life ways, Ancestors, tribal traditions, folklore, and religious practices to create hybrid archetypes. These Archetypes become personal expressions of identity, time, place, and life ways of the old and new South. The sculptures transport the viewer back in time to revisit the past and ponder the present. These characters become guardians, guides, and storytellers. Within them hold metaphorical memory, archived experiences, and wisdom.
Co-curated by Crafting Blackness Initiative co-director, Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, and Tennessee Craft’s board director, Carlton Wilkinson, the curatorial locus of Embracing Blackness revolves around ‘Blackness as Inclusion,’ assertions of the vital reality of Black gazes’ capacity to embrace cultures. The panelists will discuss their practices as Black artists employing craft in visualizing their empowered visibility in relation to the theme of multicultural heritage and Blackness.
Clockwise from top: Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, Carlton Wilkinson, Christine Roth, Gary L. White, Samuel Dunson, and Terri Jordan.
Giovanni Rodriguez & Friends
Giovanni Rodriguez and Friends at the Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions panel discussion and performance from July 10, 2025. The book, Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions catalogues the exhibit and will be published later this year.
The Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions exhibition is on view at the Customs House Museum through July 27, 2025.
From the Opening Reception for Embracing Blackness: Diasporic Unions on May 10, 2025. All images courtesy of Shana Thornton.
Shana Thornton is the Managing Editor of Second & Commerce, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s arts, history, and culture magazine. She is an author and publisher, Founder of the Clarksville-Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail, and the Montgomery County Deputy Historian.