The Friends of the Lehigh University Libraries are pleased to present Tending to the Past: Works from the Petrucci Family Foundation of African American Art, now on view in the Fairchild-Martindale Library, 6th Floor South. The exhibition brings together 33 works by 22 artists whose work engages with the topic of Black cultural memory and futures.
Founded in 2006, the Petrucci Family Foundation (PFF) Collection of African American Art has grown into one of the most significant private collections of its kind, dedicated to bringing focus to the full range of African American art and its essential place in the history and discourse of American art. Working with PFF Curator Claudia Volpe, Lehigh University Librarian Boaz Nadav Manes and Assistant University Librarian of Instruction and Outreach Jasmine Woodson selected work whose themes intersected with libraries’ missions to support the preservation of community and cultural memory.
Of the selection of works on view at Lehigh, curator Claudia Volpe says, “The PFF Collection began to collect the works of Black Artists in the belief that we cannot truly understand American history without understanding African American history. To reconcile that divide, we are committed to connecting artists and institutions that authentically engage with American history and the preservation of cultural memory. In working with the Lehigh University Libraries, we have been delighted to discover the many ways in which our institutions are aligned in our visions and values. By showing these works in a library as opposed to a traditional gallery setting, we hope to encourage viewers to not only appreciate the artistic merits of these works but also the intellectual rigor involved in their production. This has been a wonderful collaboration, and we look forward to the community conversations sparked by Tending to the Past.”
The name of the exhibition is inspired by Lucille Clifton’s poem i am accused of tending to the past, which frames History as a living force, reshaped over time. In this exhibition, artists’ works respond in that spirit, engaging with visual traditions in ways that challenge historical narratives, resist erasure, and portray the vibrant multiplicity and intersectionality of Black American lived experience. Their works open space for reflection on how memory can be reclaimed, reimagined, and reparative.
University Librarian Boaz Nadav Manes expressed his enthusiasm at hosting the collection, sharing, “It is a profound honor to partner with the Petrucci Family Foundation and to welcome these powerful works and the voices of their creators into our libraries. Exhibitions like Tending to the Past remind us that libraries are not only spaces of knowledge, but also guardians of memory and imagination. In celebrating this collection, we commit ourselves to uplifting diverse narratives and creating room for dialogue, reflection, and growth. I am deeply excited for the conversations and learning this exhibition will spark across our community in the months ahead.”
The pieces on display invite viewers to consider questions of memory and guardianship. Whose voices are recorded, and whose are left out? What choices shape the stories that endure? Together, the works suggest that tending to the past is not only an act of documentation, but of care — one that may carry grief and the need for redress, as well as joy, curiosity, and hope.
The exhibition opens September 22nd, and will remain on view through March 2026. An opening reception will be held on October 16th at 4.30 p.m. in the LTS CIRCLE (register here), and will feature a panel of artists and memory workers discussing exhibition themes. Interested in learning more about the exhibition themes? Browse our curation of thematically linked streaming feature films and documentaries and ebooks and audiobooks and stay tuned for future exhibitions programs.
The Lehigh University Libraries extend their gratitude to Vinessa Pearson, who proposed the idea of an art exhibition and facilitated the Libraries’ partnership with the Petrucci Family Foundation.