Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands – The HBCU Marching Bands Series

Battle of the Bands, Keith Duncan’s most recent body of work, celebrates the vibrant tradition of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands. This exhibition features large-scale fabric paintings of fifteen Southern HBCU bands, along with human-scale fabric paintings and smaller works on paper depicting each band’s drum major. 

Keith Duncan is a contemporary artist and educator based in New Orleans, Louisiana. A visual storyteller, Duncan draws inspiration from personal narrative, community engagement, news media, art history, Black culture and the traditions of New Orleans. While his studio practice is firmly rooted in painting and drawing, his process is expansive, adroitly incorporating paper collage and textile art. Duncan’s layered integration of wallpaper and textiles is deliberate, drawn from the influences of ancestral heritage, Southern tradition, and contemporary aesthetics of material exploration. While referencing African textile traditions and Southern traditions in handcrafts (especially the quilters of Gee’s Bend) – his formal practice is informed by the material exploration of artists including Faith Ringgold and Mickalene Thomas, while his gestural figuration and painterly style can be compared to artists such as Willie Birch and Robert Colescott. At its core, though, Duncan’s practice is narrative, and his voice is wholly his own.  

With Battle of the Bands, Keith Duncan displays his full formal acumen and narrative prowess as a painter. Like all of Duncan’s work, it is figurative, personal and rooted in the celebration of his community. Through telling this story, he focuses the viewer’s attention on the cultural significance of the HBCU marching band tradition. It also opens dialogue around the rich history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the increasingly important role they play at this moment in American history. 

Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands, The HBCU Marching Bands Series is organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.  

Support provided by Art Bridges 

Alongside this featured exhibition, The Biggs will host “Approaching Storm,” a show focused on the marching band at Delaware State University (DSU).  The university is nationally ranked as one of the top HBCUs in the country.