Adderly Grant-Lord, the visionary behind Black Future in Arts: The Space Between Us, was not handed her role as guest curator at the Dairy Arts Center: She fought for it back in 2023, pushing the curator at the time to make room for a Black History Month exhibition, despite the center’s packed schedule.
"We came in January looking for spaces in February and were told, 'The space is all taken,'" Grant-Lord recalls. "They were very firm but my response to that was, ‘Let me explain to you why you need me and why you need these exhibit.’ My daughter was bullied relentlessly in Boulder County. This is really emotional for me, but she has long, nice curly hair and students gave her scissors and made her cut her hair off in the corner in the bathroom. ... From that point on, she struggled in school. She was called the N-word, so racism is out here in Boulder County."
Through raw emotion and a compelling narrative of her daughter’s encounters with discrimination in Boulder County schools, Grant-Lord illuminated the need for representation. “The county is supposed to be taking care of these kids, but you have a segment of the kids that are suffering and you don't seem to care," she told the curator. "I'm here to put art on the walls so that the kids who come to Boulder can see that they are represented. It’s powerful to display our truth so others can get to know our history and not just assume that what you see on the five o'clock news is who we are."
Her passionate plea left the Dairy's team stunned. Grant-Lord worried she had scared them off, but she soon received a call informing her that the Creative Nations room, a permanent room for displaying Indigenous art at the Dairy, was available for the exhibition she wanted to devote to Black Futures in Art.
Now in its third year, The Space Between Us has taken over the entire first floor of the Dairy. The exhibition, which runs through March 30, features ten African-American artists, including Grant-Lord, Adri Norris, Gedion Nyanhongo and Louise Cutler. With mediums ranging from oil paintings to floral installations, it invites viewers to explore the unseen dynamics that divide and connect us.
"We're not just talking racism — I want you to see the unseen that you are missing," Grant-Lord says. "We are missing essential parts of who we are that we need to share with each other. The fact that we put each other in boxes; we have categorized where people belong — that's not what I think the universe meant for us."
Grant-Lord’s artistic journey has deep roots in Colorado. Since moving to the state in 2009, she has lived in various Boulder County towns, finding inspiration and community along the way. Her early work with the NoBo Art District in 2021 and the first iteration of the Black Future in Arts gallery in 2022 laid the groundwork for what would become a larger mission: "invading Boulder County with Black art and culture."
During an early tour as the exhibition was being installed, artists moved with purpose, transforming the building into a vibrant showcase of creativity. Marcus Murray was carefully applying his vinyl pop-art illustrations to the hallway walls with a heat gun. "This is my first time installing vinyl on a wall, so it's been a bit of a learning experience," Murray shared. "Every February, myself and a couple of other artists do ten days of Black history. It's our own Black history in our own words or from our own perspective, so each of these illustrations represents a different aspect of my Black history story in a comic-book, pop-art style."
In addition to the artwork, the project includes a lively schedule of events, including documentary screenings January 19-21, a floral altar workshop on February 4 and an artist talk on February 13. “I believe having events and multi-disciplinary immersive artistic experiences in the gallery is really important, because I think it takes people out of the traditional art experience of coming and just looking at the work," says Stella Witcher, the Dairy’s visual arts curator. “Events actually get people to engage with the work on multiple levels. The idea is for people to have as many avenues as possible to engage with this idea of Black History Month, but also the incredible Black artists that we have in the exhibit who are reflective of Boulder and Colorado in general."
As the final touches were completed, Grant-Lord took a moment to reflect on the journey that brought her to this point. From her initial plea for space at the Dairy to the collaborative energy of the installation process, she saw the exhibition as a culmination of years of dedication to her mission. “The title of the exhibition is based on a painting I did that was filled with vibrant colors,” she explains. “When I was painting, it felt like I was painting something in space. I thought, ‘Is this the space around me?’ It reminded me that what we assume is empty space is actually filled with unseen potential.”
Black Futures in Art: The Space Between Us runs through Sunday, March 30, at the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder. For special events and more information, go to thedairy.org.
"We came in January looking for spaces in February and were told, 'The space is all taken,'" Grant-Lord recalls. "They were very firm but my response to that was, ‘Let me explain to you why you need me and why you need these exhibit.’ My daughter was bullied relentlessly in Boulder County. This is really emotional for me, but she has long, nice curly hair and students gave her scissors and made her cut her hair off in the corner in the bathroom. ... From that point on, she struggled in school. She was called the N-word, so racism is out here in Boulder County."
Through raw emotion and a compelling narrative of her daughter’s encounters with discrimination in Boulder County schools, Grant-Lord illuminated the need for representation. “The county is supposed to be taking care of these kids, but you have a segment of the kids that are suffering and you don't seem to care," she told the curator. "I'm here to put art on the walls so that the kids who come to Boulder can see that they are represented. It’s powerful to display our truth so others can get to know our history and not just assume that what you see on the five o'clock news is who we are."
Her passionate plea left the Dairy's team stunned. Grant-Lord worried she had scared them off, but she soon received a call informing her that the Creative Nations room, a permanent room for displaying Indigenous art at the Dairy, was available for the exhibition she wanted to devote to Black Futures in Art.
Now in its third year, The Space Between Us has taken over the entire first floor of the Dairy. The exhibition, which runs through March 30, features ten African-American artists, including Grant-Lord, Adri Norris, Gedion Nyanhongo and Louise Cutler. With mediums ranging from oil paintings to floral installations, it invites viewers to explore the unseen dynamics that divide and connect us.
"We're not just talking racism — I want you to see the unseen that you are missing," Grant-Lord says. "We are missing essential parts of who we are that we need to share with each other. The fact that we put each other in boxes; we have categorized where people belong — that's not what I think the universe meant for us."
Grant-Lord’s artistic journey has deep roots in Colorado. Since moving to the state in 2009, she has lived in various Boulder County towns, finding inspiration and community along the way. Her early work with the NoBo Art District in 2021 and the first iteration of the Black Future in Arts gallery in 2022 laid the groundwork for what would become a larger mission: "invading Boulder County with Black art and culture."
During an early tour as the exhibition was being installed, artists moved with purpose, transforming the building into a vibrant showcase of creativity. Marcus Murray was carefully applying his vinyl pop-art illustrations to the hallway walls with a heat gun. "This is my first time installing vinyl on a wall, so it's been a bit of a learning experience," Murray shared. "Every February, myself and a couple of other artists do ten days of Black history. It's our own Black history in our own words or from our own perspective, so each of these illustrations represents a different aspect of my Black history story in a comic-book, pop-art style."
In addition to the artwork, the project includes a lively schedule of events, including documentary screenings January 19-21, a floral altar workshop on February 4 and an artist talk on February 13. “I believe having events and multi-disciplinary immersive artistic experiences in the gallery is really important, because I think it takes people out of the traditional art experience of coming and just looking at the work," says Stella Witcher, the Dairy’s visual arts curator. “Events actually get people to engage with the work on multiple levels. The idea is for people to have as many avenues as possible to engage with this idea of Black History Month, but also the incredible Black artists that we have in the exhibit who are reflective of Boulder and Colorado in general."
As the final touches were completed, Grant-Lord took a moment to reflect on the journey that brought her to this point. From her initial plea for space at the Dairy to the collaborative energy of the installation process, she saw the exhibition as a culmination of years of dedication to her mission. “The title of the exhibition is based on a painting I did that was filled with vibrant colors,” she explains. “When I was painting, it felt like I was painting something in space. I thought, ‘Is this the space around me?’ It reminded me that what we assume is empty space is actually filled with unseen potential.”
Black Futures in Art: The Space Between Us runs through Sunday, March 30, at the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder. For special events and more information, go to thedairy.org.
