Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan

Painter, poet and storyteller—Ashley Bryan has created a wide variety of artwork inspired by African and African-American experiences. This remarkable man, born in 1923, began making books and telling stories at age 6. Even as a boy, he was struck by how few black characters he found in books. Now in his 90s, he’s still creating stories and art, and even making puppets from found objects.

The Woodruff Arts Center along with the High Museum of Art have developed a variety of exhibits, shows and activities to honor his colorful and meaningful books.

My family recently took a visit to Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan at the High Museum of Art. My children loved looking at the colors and all the different animals in his artwork. We picked up an information sheet that contained a fun scavenger hunt for the exhibit that encouraged the children to look carefully at the artwork, count figures and make up their own stories as they moved through the museum.

We ended the scavenger hunt at a book nook with storyteller Akbar Imhotep. He entertained the children with stories written by Ashley Bryan, poems, rhymes and drumming. Akbar and storyteller John Doyle created a 15-20 minute program especially for the exhibit and will present it only on Second Sundays until the exhibit closes on Jan. 21.

When we left the Ashley Bryan exhibit, there was still much more to do. We were thrilled to find puppets inspired by Ashley Bryan in the Greene Family Learning Gallery. The kids could play with the puppets and act out scenes from the stories they had just heard. Visiting the High was a great chance to let my children see, hear and touch the arts.

–Nicole Mabry