The Visual Blues exhibition, opening January 30 at Telfair Museums, celebrates the Harlem Renaissance—the art scene in Harlem from 1919 to about 1940 that provided a creative haven for African Americans and encouraged a melding of art, music, literature, and poetry. The exhibit explores how artists and musicians of the period blurred artistic boundaries, drawing inspiration from each other and often contributing to one another’s art forms.

Comprised of fifty-two paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures, The Visual Bluesillus­trates the unprecedented outburst of artistic creativity during the Harlem Renaissance that was inspired by blues and jazz, dance, and social clubs. Through the artwork, the viewer can appreciate how performers, poets, playwrights, and painters socialized and lent support to one another.

“This vibrant exhibition combines work by well-known artists, such as Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence, with select works by some of their lesser-known contemporaries,” said Courtney McNeil, Telfair Museums’ curator of fine arts and exhibitions. “Together, the works allow the viewer to share in the heady excitement and energy of the Harlem Renaissance by learning how visual artists and blues and jazz musicians provided inspiration for one another.”

By the 1920s, many Southern musicians had moved to Northern cities, bringing with them the new rhythms and poignant lyrics of Southern black music. Alongside such illustrious musicians as Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington, Southern African American artists performed at famous nightclubs in Harlem, including the Savoy Ballroom, the Apollo Theater, and the Cotton Club. The culture of the Harlem Renaissance fostered friendships and collaborations among artists of many disciplines and provided an outlet for transcending hardships and shattering racial stereotypes.

Appearing in Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center for the Arts, The Visual Blues runs until May 5, 2015, and will coincide with the world-renowned Savannah Music Festival. The artwork is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. The exhibit was organized by the Louisiana State University Museum of Art.