In an era where social media, politics, and the aftermath of a global pandemic have left many feeling as isolated as five separate fingers, a collective of Atlanta-based artists are aiming to bring us together like the fist through their art.
On Thursday, May 1, Unifying Us Through Art, presented by African Americans For The Arts (AAFTA), opened at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Featuring works from 36 artists exploring themes of unity, cultural identity, and contemporary social issues.
“As a person of African American descent, that’s always a theme for us,” said Jeanette Barnett, president of AAFTA. “We are always addressing the nation and how we feel and how we fit or don’t fit, or how we think we should fit.”
The exhibition represents over six months of planning, according to Barnett, who has led the organization for three years. She has been a member since 2013.
Among the artists in the exhibition is Faif Quin, a photographer and filmmaker who joined AAFTA in late 2023. Originally from Manchester, New Hampshire, and the daughter of Liberian immigrants, Quinn brings her perspective rooted in her background and formal training in film at Full Sail University, where she graduated in 2020.
“I still make movies,” Quinn said. “But I wanted to experiment with photography. I picked up the camera to get more comfortable with composition, to tell stories—and I fell in love with it.”
Her work on display, Provide a Home for Me, is part of a photographic series titled I Always Feel You With Me, and it reflects her deeply personal journey through spiritual disconnection and rediscovery.
“I made it when I was in a really dark and isolated place,” Quinn explained. “I felt lost—disconnected from my spirituality, from people, from community. I needed a way to articulate what that was and how to find it again.”
For Quinn, spirituality—especially Black spirituality—is a source of connection and strength. “Black spirituality is, to me, the most powerful thing on the planet. We find resilience in our ancestors. We find God around every corner. It’s not something you always see, but you feel it, and I wanted to capture that.”
She centers her work in unseen threads that tie people together—faith, intuition, ancestry, and a collective yearning for unity. “You can always find home in your spirituality,” she said. “And in that home, you find fellowship and connection with others.”
Asked what she hopes viewers take away from her work, Quinn said, “I hope they meditate on it, let it resonate. Maybe it helps them reconnect with their spirituality, with people they’ve lost touch with. I hope it stirs a desire to be in community again. It’s about spiritual metamorphosis.”
Each artist in the show approached the theme of unity in their own way, something Barnett emphasized was intentional. “We respect their views as artists,” she said. “You’ll see different interpretations of what unity means, and that’s the autonomy we give them.”
One of the participating artists, K. Joy Ballard Peters, has been a member of AAFTA for five years. Her piece in the exhibition, titled Traveling Buddies, carries personal and symbolic meaning.
“During part of COVID, I wanted to do some traveling, but obviously I couldn’t,” Peters explained. “I was also teaching a class at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum, and I had the students use primary and secondary colors to create energy in a scene. That’s where the idea started.”
The piece began life as a pillow in 2022, was later disassembled, matted, and framed. It incorporates printed fabric with the imagery of luggage.
Due to underlying health concerns, Peters said she went into strict seclusion from 2019 through 2023 to protect herself from COVID. “I wasn’t letting people in my house, and I wasn’t going out,” she shared. “I did a lot of art during that time.”
Discussing Traveling Buddies, Peters shared her hopes for its impact: “I want them to be excited about going places and exploring. I hope they remember joyful moments—maybe traveling with friends, or maybe memories of their mothers or aunts taking special trips together.”
AAFTA members meet regularly at Hammonds House Museum, sharing not only artistic techniques but also cultural dialogue and community.
“We’re always talking about our place in the United States of America,” Barnett said.
