The summer exhibitions at the Albany Museum of Art are in their final two weeks. The last day to view the five exhibitions, which include Vitus Shell: Power of Sight, is Saturday, Aug 29.

Two exhibitions focus on Albany’s history: Sense of Place: Green Book Sites in Albany, GA, and the multimedia Moments in the Good Life City: An Oral History of Albany, GA. Works by the two winning artists in the AMA’s second annual open call for artists are also on view: The Middle Way, photography by Rylan Steele of Columbus, Ga., and The House of Birds, works by Jessica Ambadipudi of Leesburg, Ga.

Vitus Shell: Power of Sight in the Haley Gallery is the first solo presentation in Georgia for the Louisiana artist. Gold Everything Series is portraits shrouded in and surrounded by classic golden motifs and filigree, as in historic European portraiture. Shell questions the perception of a subject in portraiture and has historical resonance by bringing Black culture and experiences to the forefront.

Sense of Place in the East Gallery connects Albany’s history with visual art, highlighting Albany locations listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book from 1937 to 1945. Named for its author, Victor Hugo Green, the Green Book aided Black travelers by listing safe places, including gas stations, restaurants, rest stops, hotels, and homes where tourists could stay.

During those years, Mrs. Aurelia Bentley, Mrs. Lula Davis, Mrs. Virginia Ross, and Mrs. Callie Washington opened their homes to travelers for lodging and refuge. While the homes no longer exist or have the same function, community leader and photographer Adrian Jenkins photographed the Albany locations for the exhibition.

Moments in the Good Life City presents an oral history through a partnership between the Albany Museum of Art and the South Georgia Archives at the Thronateeska Heritage Center. Billye Sands, of BillYAY Films, filmed the interviews with Patricia Chatmon Perryman, Pamela Chatmon Washington, Michael Harper, Angelia Gibson Jones, and Adrian Jenkins. Those interviews are presented on-screen in the Hodges Gallery, and the recordings will be permanently housed in the South Georgia Archives.

Exhibitions in the McCormack and West Galleries feature the work of Rylan Steele, of Columbus, Ga., and Jessica Ambadipudi, of Leesburg, Ga. They were selected for their respective solo exhibitions in the AMA’s second annual call for artists.

Ambadipudi’s work in The Home of Birds is on view in the West Gallery. A native of India, she began in animation before transitioning into illustration and visual storytelling. Her move to the U.S. to pursue her MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design led her to address homesickness and what home really is through the symbolism of stars and birds, the latter migratory creatures that create homes wherever they go.

Steele’s work is on view in The Middle Way in the McCormack Gallery. A photographer and associate professor of photography at Columbus State University, Steele was inspired after rereading To Kill a Mockingbird to tell the story of childhood and the pivotal parts of growing up by photographing his son, Owen, over the past nine years, showing his evolution from a child to a teenager. Steele and Owen are collaborators in this body of work, with the documentation of the series constructed from their conversations.

Last month, the AMA issued its 3rd annual call for artists working in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to submit proposals for a juried solo exhibition at the museum in summer 2027.

AMA is at 311 Meadowlark Drive. Galleries are open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free for everyone. 

• Vitus Shell: Power of Sight is May 27-Aug 29, 2026, in the Haley Gallery.
• Sense of Place: Green Book Sites in Albany, GA is May 27-Aug 29, 2026, in the East Gallery.
• Moments in The Good Life City: An Oral History of Albany, GA is May 27-Aug 29, 2026, in the Hodges Gallery.
• The Middle Way, works by Rylan Steele, is May 27-Aug 29, 2026, in the McCormack Gallery.
• The Home of Birds, works by Jessica Ambadipudi, is May 27-Aug 29, 2026, in the West Gallery.