This exhibition tells the story of the enslaved potters of Old Edgefield District, a rural area on the western edge of South Carolina famous for its natural clays. While many associate labor of the enslaved with staple crops like cotton and tobacco, historians describe Old Edgefield as the site of “industrial slavery.” For roughly fifty years before emancipation and the end of the Civil War, the Black potters of Old Edgefield crafted stoneware storage vessels later sold to neighboring plantations. Despite their beauty and expert craftsmanship, these vessels were made under duress.

Edgefield stoneware was a staple of life across South Carolina and parts of Georgia and known for its affordable prices, durability, and glassy, impervious glaze. By the 1840s, multiple potteries served the growing population, producing tens of thousands of vessels per year. Enslaved African Americans led all aspects of this labor-intensive industry. Their knowledge, creativity, and skill stand at the heart of this exhibition, which seeks to honor their work and legacy.

Hear Me Now also links the past to the present with work by leading contemporary Black artists who have responded to or whose practice connects with the Edgefield story, including Theaster Gates, Adebunmi Gbadebo, Simone Leigh, and Woody De Othello. Hear Me Now is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with support from the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Henry Luce Foundation.