Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden
June 7 – November 26, 2023
Galleries 1 & 2

The Speed Art Museum is honored to present In the Garden, a special installation centered around Amy Sherald’s portrait of the late Breonna Taylor. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was murdered by Louisville Metro Police officers who illegally entered her apartment in March 2020. In the wake of this event and other violent instances like the Minneapolis murder of George Floyd, massive protests demanding justice and renewed social equality for Black and brown bodies commenced across the world.

Sherald’s painting of Breonna Taylor was originally commissioned for Vanity Fair magazine’s September 2020 issue as a public memorial to Taylor’s life and the ongoing quest for social justice. In 2021, the portrait was jointly acquired by the Speed Art Museum in Louisville and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

In 2018, the artist Amy Sherald rose to international prominence after her official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama was unveiled to the world. For Sherald, “social portraiture”—which has a long, grand tradition in the halls of European and American sites of authority and wealth—is an artistic practice that can also be wielded by Black painters and makers of color as an agent of change. Through its very presence, the portrait of Breonna Taylor commands and inspires our space and place; it urges us to contemplate the horrors of our society, and it reminds us there is much work to be done.

In the Garden, which is sited throughout Galleries 1-2, is a special presentation mounted to invite reflection, dialogue, and community contemplation. This installation, which also features artworks by leading contemporary artists Anthony Akinbola, Firelei Báez, Andrea Bowers, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, vanessa german, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Ebony G. Patterson, Nari Ward, T.A. Yero, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, explores themes of loss, joy, injustice, growth, and sorrow. Comprised of collection artworks and special loans, it is partially inspired by “Breonna’s Garden,” a virtual reality experience co-created by Ju’Niyah Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s younger sister. In addition, Louisville artists Braylyn Resko Stewart and Sara Noori have been invited to create a site-specific mural for this installation. Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden was developed with significant guidance from Breonna Taylor’s family.

Throughout the course of this installation, the Speed will offer public and community programming around the topics of personal healing, gun violence, and empowerment.

Programming surrounding this special installation.

Community Mural, local artist Sara Noori, a contributor to the In the Garden Installation, will lead a community art-making project during several events this summer.
After Hours @ The Speed: June 16, from 5 to 8 pm. We will be creating a floral mural
Community Day: June 25
First Thursday/Family Day: July 6
After Hours @ The Speed June 16: 6 pm, Gallery Talk with Curator Tyler Blackwell in Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden
Cinema Screenings
- June 17 & 18, Drylongso. A lost treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance.
- Sunday, July 9, 3 pm: Sunday Showcase: Bone Black: Midwives vs. The South screening with director Imani Dennison followed by a post-screening discussion focused on Black maternal health.
Community Conversations: Every first Thursday of the month, 6 pm to 7:30 pm
- In order to support members of our community in learning and healing together, we will host monthly community conversations within Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden galleries led by Mental Health Lou. Members of the team from No More Red Dots and community members they serve will also participate in the community conversations. Resources and information about the work of Mental Health Lou and No More Red Dots will be available during the event also. These conversations will be drop-in opportunities that are free with admission and open to all.
Celebrate You Sundays: Every third Sunday of the month, 1 pm to 3:30 pm
- Spend time surrounded by the artworks of Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden and celebrate what makes you unique! Explore your internal landscape through a guided meditation workshop led by Mental Health Lou from 1-2 pm. Following this experience, we will have a drop-in art-making experience from 2-3:30 pm with members of the team from No More Red Dots Peace Through the Arts program. Inspired by Felix Gonzales-Torres’ work on view in this installation, during this open-ended, participatory art experience, you will create rubbings of a statement that inspires you to celebrate yourself each day—and go home with multiple rubbings that you can share with others. Both portions of the experience will be drop-in opportunities that are free with admission and open to all.

Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor: In the Garden in the News

Famous Breonna Taylor portrait anchors new exhibit in Louisville – LPM News, 6.9.23

Breonna Taylor portrait on display at Louisville’s Speed Art Museum – WDRB News – 6.7.23

Interactive exhibit invites viewers to take candy, contemplate love and loss – LPM News, 7.6.23

Read the full Press Release

This special installation is sponsored by: