Plain Sight Archive

In addition to the connective archive, and digital storytelling, we feel strongly a publishing arm is necessary. The established form of telling history is in book publication. Plain Sight Archive must participate in the formal production of history to fundamentally transform the record. We must be a voice and an outlet for new stories that challenge tradition. Our first published title will be "Zoe Dusanne: The Art of Seeing" forthcoming September 2026. An expanded biography of prominent Seattle figure Zoe Dusanne (1884-1972). Not only known for her important work in the arts in the 1940s-60s, Zoe was deeply rooted in Seattle’s early Black community and history.

Message from the Founders: This year has yet again reinforced our mission and brought it even more poignantly into focus. In a time of active erasure of inclusive American history, we are committed to it more than ever. Inclusive history requires visible archives. From the beginning we found that institutions hold so much more material than is presently or easily accessible. We founded our mission on activating those pieces – illuminating within an archive and linking across institutions and other memory holders – to tell a more inclusive truth. Vulnerable legacies must be actively cared for in this destructive time. As we continue to work with memory workers and legacy holders, we are in awe of the heroic work needed to preserve and protect archives of all kinds. Preservation is an urgent issue in the face of active removal of narratives – and truth. We see all around us attempts at erasure gathering force. Plain Sight Archive is committed to the prevention of such loss, and to the active resistance needed to tell our collective history. Please consider supporting Plain Sight Archive as part of your end of year giving. Link is in our bio. With Gratitude, Beth Ann & Richelle

Our mission is to make it easier to see the galaxy of artists and creative communities working across the 20th century. We have a history that we don’t fully know. Be a part of this important work, help us keep these creative legacies visible. ✨Donate now ✨ link in bio ✨

Elizabeth Catlett and Clementine Hunter @neworleansmuseumofart 💕

What a show up at @gettymuseum ! So good. @betyesaar @charlesgainesstudio @johnsimmonsasc @frankbowlingstudio #adrianpiper @davidc.driskell

Harry H. Adams (1918-1985) Harry Adams was a freelance photographer for the California Eagle and Los Angeles Sentinel for 35 years. He has 68 photos in the Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection, UCLA, one of which was highlighted in our previous post. @uclalibrary There is also a huge archive of Adams' work in the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at Cal State Northridge @csunlibrary From their overview: "Born in Arkansas in 1918, Adams became interested in photography when he was 12 years old. His photographic career began after he completed a tour of duty in World War II and graduated from the California School of Photography and Graphic Design." Harry H. Adams [self-portrait] with his camera in front of the Sheraton West Hotel, Los Angeles, 1963. California State University Northridge, University Library, Special Collections & Archives, Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, 09.01.HA.N45.B17.245

K. Marie Johnson Moore (1894-1990) Women in the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970) Marie Moore had four works accepted into the 1962 Atlanta Annual. She submitted from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where her husband Herman E. Moore served as U.S. District Judge from 1939-1957. The couple previously lived in Chicago, where Marie Moore was a founding member of the South Side Community Art Center. Her work was exhibited there in 1951. In fall 1963, the League of Allied Arts in Los Angeles hosted an exhibit of Marie Moore's work at the Family Savings & Loan Association Building on Crenshaw Blvd. From left: Artist Marie Moore, Irma Hopkins, Venye Corporal, Ethel Bell, Dorothy Vena Johnson, Helen Garrott, Aurora Hoskins, Marian McCard, Della McDonald, Martha Cushine, Laura Fowler. Photo by Harry H. Adams, September 1963, Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection, UCLA Library Digital Collections. @uclalibrary The catalogue for the 1962 Atlanta Annual is digitized at the Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library @auc_woodruff

This Friday April 3, 6-8pm. LORE welcomes artist Senon Williams and writer Will Alexander for a night where poetry and jazz move in conversation. Featuring readings from Scrapyard and Divine Blue Light (For John Coltrane) With live accompaniment by Joel Virgel and David Ralicke. In celebration of the new monograph Scrapyard by Senon Williams with contributions by @plain_sight_archive This free event brings together literature, music, and community in the heart of Leimert Park. We hope to see you there. Link in Lore bio. please RSVP! @hatandbeardpress @ralicke @virgelviersetjoel @loreleimertpark @invisible_republic

Minnie Marianne Miles (1941-2022) Women in the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970) In 1970, Minnie Marianne Miles had a solo show at the Parthenon's Cowan Gallery @nashvilleparthenon , which included this work "Toward Analysis." "The Tennessean," 13 December 1970. Photo by Terry Tomlin. Her painting, "Pockets" (1970) was included in "Black Artists / South," curated by Ralph M. Hudson, Huntsville [Alabama] Museum of Art, 1979. Reproduced in publication of same name, p. 39. @hsvmuseumart #hsvmuseum

Minnie Marianne Miles (1941-2022) Women in the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970) In the 1959 Atlanta Annual, Minnie Marianne Miles exhibited a painting titled "Self Portrait." We wonder if this is that painting. Minnie Marianne Miles, "Self Portrait" [undated], oil on canvas. © Estate of Minnie Marianne Miles. Reproduced in @callaloojournal 43.4 (Winter 2025) p. 145. Another of her works, "Shady Lady" (1980) is reproduced on the back cover of the same issue.

Minnie Marianne Miles (1941-2022) Women in the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970) Minnie Marianne Miles exhibited 5 works in four Atlanta Annuals 1957-1960. She was awarded an Honorable Mention for her first oil "After the Shower" shown in 1957 when she was still in high school. Miles graduated from Fisk University in 1963 and went on to earn an MFA from New York University in 1968. "An accomplished artist, Minnie produced a large volume of works during the 1960’s and 1970’s in multiple media including oils, watercolors, etchings, pastels, and charcoal. At her passing, Minnie retained a portfolio of over 200 pieces of original work, many of which are held in public and private collections around the country. Minnie’s work has also been featured in shows at local galleries such as Laguna Gloria, and the black studies gallery at the University of Texas, Austin. Minnie’s artistic endeavors were not limited to her personal works. She was also an art educator, teaching at her alma mater Fisk University, Austin Community College, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her career in the arts included periods as curator of collections, as the Director of Fisk’s Van Vechten gallery, along with the Beech Institute and King Tisdale Cottage galleries in Savannah, GA." (quoted from her obituary) Photograph of "Mr. Adair, Miss Marianne Miles, Dr. Brookes and Friend [unidentified woman], 1959 [Atlanta Annual]," unknown photographer, digitized at the Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library @auc_woodruff

Pearl E. Sewell Martin (1929-2020) Women in the Atlanta Annuals (1942-1970) Pearl Sewell Martin exhibited 8 works in six Atlanta Annuals between 1957 & 1966. Pearl E. Sewell grew up in Baltimore, and earned her BA and MA in art at Howard University @howard1867 where she would have studied with Loïs Mailou Jones, among others. She also studied painting at the University of Iowa. Pearl Sewell Martin was a professor of art at Prairie View A&M University @pvamu for almost 40 years. And she was still exhibiting her artwork in 2013. Photograph of Pearl Sewell (her name and a Prairie View Texas address on reverse), ca. 1950s, unknown photographer, digitized at the Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library @auc_woodruff