Artists as History Trackers: Using Art to Tell the Stories That Matter

By: Daniel Fuller, Director of Curation

At the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, we’re dedicated to telling stories rooted in struggle, resistance, dignity, and hope. One of the most powerful ways we do that is through art. 

Artists are, and always have been, history trackers. 

They capture the emotional temperature of a moment, the psychological impact of injustice, and the tension between what is and what could be. Their work can whisper or scream, hold contradictions, and ask questions many are afraid to pose. For an institution like ours, this kind of work is invaluable. 

Art offers an entry point. It invites people in, often when history itself is hard to face. It creates a different kind of learning space—one that’s experiential, reflective, and emotional. A sculpture can make visible the weight of labor. A painting can tell a story the textbooks left out. An installation can recreate the feeling of displacement, protest, or hope. 

When we show contemporary work in a history museum, we’re not just illustrating the past—we’re showing how the past lives on in the present. We’re giving space to artists who are continuing the legacy of civil rights through their practice. We’re saying that the story didn’t end in 1965. It’s still unfolding. 

This shift—from curating what’s new to curating what remembers—has reshaped how I think about my work. And more importantly, it’s expanded the ways our museum can connect with our community. 

We can still teach history. But we can also feel it. 

We can still honor the past. But we can also amplify the artists who keep it vitally relevant to the present. 

We can still tell the truth, but now we can do it in more ways: through image, gesture, beauty, pain, and everything in between. 

Art doesn’t just illustrate history.
It carries it.
And that’s why it belongs here.