The Berea Arts Council will host a one-week exhibit of 10 portraits painted by Maine Artist Robert Shetterly as part of his Americans Who Tell the Truth series. Initially Shetterly planned to paint 50 portraits of people who inspired him. The number has grown to 260. A book titled “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” written and illustrated by Shetterly, was published by Dutton Children’s Books in 2005, followed by “Portraits of Racial Justice” and Portraits of Earth Justice,” published by New Village Press in 2021 and 2022.

The exhibit is funded by MDC in conjunction with its State of the South: Central Appalachia conference that takes place April 19-20, 2023, in Berea. The conference agenda features the AWTT exhibit from 5 – 7 p.m. on the opening day of the conference.

The exhibit includes brief biographies and portraits of Muhammad Ali, Barbara Johns, John Hunter, Nikki Giovanni, Wendell Berry, Judy Bonds, Larry Gibson, Anne Braden, Myles Horton, and Berea native Teri Blanton.

Blanton, who is known for her environmental activism, will attend the opening reception on Friday, April 14, from 6 until 8 p.m. There is no charge to attend the reception.

The exhibit runs from Thursday, April 13, through the following Wednesday, April 19.

MDC is a non-profit organizations that “equips Southern leaders, institutions, and communities to improve economic mobility and advance equity, shaping a South where all people thrive.”  The conference will focus on the question: What would the South look like if equity became a shared Southern value? “Over two days, [conferees will] gather to deepen long-standing relationships, develop new partnerships, and discover areas for working together to create economic security, racial equity, and community well-being.”