Spelman College students Hannah Jackson (center) and Madison Harris view the piece “Chattel” by Marcus Brown at the exhibition “Repossessions,” at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts on the Spelman College campus, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art will host two exhibitions concurrently during the Fall 2025 semester, as the Museum marks its 30th anniversary. (Jason Getz/AJC)

ATLANTA — A new and emotional art exhibition at Spelman College is turning painful chapters of American history into powerful works of modern art. The exhibition, titled “Repossessions,” invites Black artists to transform artifacts donated by white families whose ancestors were slaveholders. Items on display include Confederate money, plantation maps, and a leather ledger listing enslaved people and their dollar value.

"There is a kind of energy that emanates from the objects," says Liz Andrews, director of the Spelman Museum of Fine Art. That energy fuels "Repossessions," the museum’s latest exhibition, where six artists transform artifacts from America’s past to dive deeper into conversations about slavery, reparations and Black history. UATL reporter Brooke Howard joins Andrews to explore how art reframes our past — and shapes our future. Credits: Brooke Leigh Howard/AJC