The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is pleased to announce the opening of its new exhibition, Ancestral Wisdom, on March 26th from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Longwood Art Gallery, now located at BCA Headquarters (2700 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461). Curated by BCA’s Gallery Director Lucia Warck-Meister, Ancestral Wisdom is a group exhibition featuring four contemporary Bronx artists selected through our recently introduced Open Call for Artists.

Ancestral Wisdom is part of the 2025 Longwood Art Gallery season titled The World We Want To Live In, which examines art’s role in social and political movements—not only raising awareness but catalyzing public discourse and bringing new audiences into activism. The act of imagining alternate ways of being is, these artists believe, the beginning of creating the many worlds we want to live in.

The wisdom of our ancestors has been passed down through generations, offering insight into our origins, culture, and the essence of humanity's connection to nature. It encompasses the teachings, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and practices that shaped the lives of our forebears and now serve as valuable resources for understanding our world, addressing pressing social and environmental challenges, and mending the broken link between nature and humanity. The artworks in the exhibition explore themes of the natural world and the body—ranging from plant medicine to bodily autonomy, the constructs of gender and family, and the porous boundaries between ecological systems and the built environment.

Ancestral Wisdom brings together the voices of four artists whose work bridges heritage, nature, and community to challenge contemporary social and cultural constructs. Susan MacMurdy reconnects urban life with the natural world through delicate paper collages that explore the fragile bonds between humans and the environment, employing a flat perspective to equalize all subjects. Palén Obesa’s engravings delve into Dominican narratives of womanhood, contrasting ancestral matriarchal empowerment with Western religious constraints, while addressing the destructive clash between humanity and nature. asmara highlights the creative contributions of women in community-building practices and fosters collective growth through her Bronx community garden. Meanwhile, Darryl Alexander Moore critiques gender constructs and societal stereotypes, blending Pop Art and comic book influences with ancestral archetypes to explore universal human experiences. Through the voices of these artists, Ancestral Wisdom invites us to reimagine our collective future by honoring the lessons of the past, fostering a deeper connection with nature, and embracing the transformative power of heritage to create a world rooted in balance, equity, and understanding.

For more information about this exhibition and the Longwood Art Gallery, please visit www.bronxarts.org/programs/connector/longwood-art-project/longwood-art-gallery.