Maizelle: Celebrate Me Home

Maizelle, artist, gallerist, and a founding member of the Norfolk Arts Commission, has been a fixture in the Hampton Roads arts community for more than four decades.

Raised in Norfolk during the socio-political upheavals of the mid-twentieth century, she has devoted her impressive career to chronicling the evolution of the African American community. Her work portrays members of her family and a cast of relatable characters from her neighborhood around Church Street, the commercial and residential hub of African American Norfolk. She not only depicts figures such as vegetable vendors and musicians, but she also documents the legacy of local landmarks such as the Attucks Theatre and forgotten social events such as the Queen’s Ball.

In her exhibition Celebrate Me Home, Maizelle’s paintings and collages invite viewers to learn of the incredible complexity of Norfolk’s history, one that fades as generations pass but is nonetheless a critical component of understanding African American life and legacy in Hampton Roads.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website