Congratulations to Letitia Huckaby and Sedrick Huckaby on the founding and opening of Kinfolk House, a transformative community art space in Fort Worth, Texas. The 100 year-old historic home was originally owned by Sedrick Huckaby’s grandmother, Hallie Beatrice Carpenter, aka Big Momma. After years of restoration by the two artists, the historic home has opened with an inaugural exhibition by its two founders, and it will now serve the community through dynamic and engaging art exhibitions, workshops, events, performances, and talks.
As a collaborative project space, Kinfolk House presents more than art exhibitions or pairings of artists, it intends to foster a community based on dialogues between visual artists and creatives, including writers, muscians, dancers, and others. The first project, Welcome, is a two-person exhibiton of new work by Letitia Huckaby and Sedrick Huckaby which grounds the space in family, tradition, and legacy through the inspiration and presence of Sedrick’s grandmother, Hallie Beatrice Carpenter, whose maiden name was Welcome.
Carpenter, known as Big Momma, was the matriarch of the family and left a lasting legacy. She had the unique ability to bring people together from the neighborhood and beyond, always making them feel at home. Though not an artist herself, she expressed her creativity through textiles, fashion, and music. Assisted by family, the Huckabys have selected a collection of memorabilia and sound recordings to exhibit alongside their own work as a part of the interactive nature of the environment.
In conversation with Big Momma, the Huckabys explore the past and how it shapes the present as well as the future. The artists point to the everlasting legacy of the matriarch of their family and how her spirit continues to reside in this home and with the many people who knew her. Through this connection to family and community, the Huckabys hope to illiumunate the ways in which Big Momma’s conviction that all are welcome remains true.
