The Redd Family Collection of Black Arts

In 1990, Melgenia and Vernon Redd opened a gallery called Miracles Fine Art, and it was the first institution of its kind in Macon, GA, that specialized in exhibiting the work of Black artists. Inspired by an activist passion forged in an era that saw the end of Jim Crow, they were determined to contribute to the preservation and celebration of Black art and culture. Over time, they built a collection of over 800 items, including paintings, sculptures, masks, mixed media works, and woven fabrics. In 1996, the gallery was closed due to health challenges. The entire collection was subsequently moved to storage.

In 2022, their children Marques Redd and Marquita Sams began to develop an infrastructure for digitizing, preserving and exhibiting the Redd Family Black Art Collection. To date, they have photographed the entire collection and are actively working to archive and build a permanent home for these works. In June 2022, they exhibited work from the collection for the first time in over 20 years during Art as Liberation in Pittsburgh, PA. In June 2023, they participated in the 31st Annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival in Macon, GA. In February 2024, they displayed their exhibition Pioneers of Purpose at Macon’s Douglass Theatre. In November 2024, they contributed pieces to the Tubman African American Museum’s exhibition The Water Spirit Will Take Us Home.

In April 2025, the Redd family will unveil Miracles: A Selection from the Redd Family Collection of Black Art at the Tubman Museum. This landmark exhibition will celebrate the artistic legacy of the original gallery and mark the most comprehensive public presentation of the collection since its closure nearly three decades earlier. Reintroducing long-hidden treasures to the public, the show will honor the pioneering vision of Melgenia and Vernon Redd and serve as a powerful act of cultural revival—reaffirming the family’s enduring commitment to preserving, exhibiting, and sharing the brilliance of Black artistic expression.