Hampton Art Lovers presents the 2025 Point Comfort Art Fair + Show, an expansive cultural experience hosted at the Historic Ward Rooming House & Gardens in Historic Overtown, Miami. Coinciding with Miami Art Week, Art Basel, and Soul Basel, the Fair celebrates African-American creativity through contemporary art, historic works, music, cultural dialogue, and community engagement.

Presented with support from: City of Miami Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA, Simkins Family Foundation, Art of Black (GMCVB), 100 Black Men of Florida, MDEAT, FIU Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, E11EVEN Vodka, and Duke + Dame Whiskey.

POINT COMFORT: THREE CORE COMPONENTS

Point Comfort unfolds through three defining pillars that shape a multilayered cultural experience.

1. THE ART FAIR (OUTDOOR PAVILION)

Held beneath an expansive 80×40-foot pavilion in the Lois Mailou Jones Patio & Gardens, the Art Fair showcases contemporary African-American artists whose work responds to the 2025 theme: Life & Times of Frederick Douglass.

2025 Art Fair Pavilion Artists:
Carl E. Moore, Tasanee Durrett, Tiffani Glenn, Chris Clark, Brandon Clarke, Benford Stellmacher, Phillip Shung, Judy Bowman, Milton Mizell, Basil Watson, Hassan Paige and Ronda Brown.

2. THE ART SHOW (GALLERY EXHIBITIONS)

Presented inside the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery, the Art Show is the museum-quality centerpiece of Point Comfort. For 2025, it features two major exhibitions that explore historical memory, generational storytelling, and African-American resilience.

A. PROPHET OF FREEDOM

Featuring the Art of Alvin C. Hollingsworth & Others

Frederick Douglass is widely regarded as the Prophet of Freedom—a visionary whose truth-telling, moral clarity, and unyielding pursuit of justice reshaped the conscience of a nation. This exhibition reflects the generational impact of his prophetic voice.

Anchoring the exhibition is Alvin C. Hollingsworth’s transformative 1970 Prophet Series, radiating themes of illumination, liberation, and spiritual resilience. Complementing Hollingsworth is the iconic figurative dynamism of Ernie Barnes, whose elongated forms and expressive movement affirm the vitality and grace of Black life.

The exhibition expands its exploration of prophetic leadership with two additional historic masterworks:

• Charles White, Lincoln — A monumental portrayal by one of America’s greatest draftsmen, symbolizing democracy’s moral struggle and the ongoing pursuit of freedom.

• John Biggers, The Contribution of the Negro Woman to American Life and Education — A profound narrative honoring Black women as cultural bearers, educators, and foundational architects of American progress.

Together, these works explore prophecy, leadership, cultural memory, and the enduring legacy of Frederick Douglass—the nation’s true Prophet of Freedom.

B. THE LEGACY INSTALLATION

Featuring the Art of Alonzo Adams & Kyle Adams (Father & Son)

This landmark multi-generational exhibition is presented exclusively inside the Ward Rooming House Gallery. Alonzo Adams, known for emotional, narrative-rich portraiture, and Kyle Adams, whose contemporary experimentation expands the visual language of Black identity, create an intergenerational conversation on heritage, lineage, creativity, and cultural evolution.

3. THE INDABA LOUNGE SERIES

Derived from the Swahili word “indaba,” meaning “a meeting of great minds,” the Indaba Lounge Series transforms the gardens into a vibrant cultural salon alive with music, conversation, fellowship, and community programming. It serves as the rhythmic and intellectual center of the Fair.

2025 THEME: LIFE & TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS

Frederick Douglass—abolitionist, statesman, author, and the most photographed American of the 19th century—is widely known as the Prophet of Freedom. His 1861 lecture “Pictures and Progress” argued that images could shape identity, challenge stereotypes, and advance justice.

“Poets, prophets, and reformers are all picture makers — and this ability is the secret of their power and achievements.” — Frederick Douglass, 1861

The 2025 Fair explores how art, representation, and visual storytelling remain central to liberation and social transformation.

HISTORICAL INSPIRATION: POINT COMFORT

The Fair’s name references Point Comfort, Virginia, where the first Africans from the Kingdom of Ndongo arrived in 1619. Their resilience forged lasting African-American cultural traditions in artistry, community, spirituality, and innovation.
The Point Comfort Art Fair + Show honors this lineage—transforming historical trauma into creativity and cultural triumph.

Point Comfort is a panoramic experience of ART, CONVERSATIONS, and VIBES. Point Comfort's Indaba Lounge Series brings people together in conversation through art. The word “Indaba” is Swahili for “come together” or “meeting of great minds”. Our Indaba Lounge Series includes our Opening Reception, Art Talks, musical vibes curated by musicologists Fly Guy & Six Millz, “Bespoke Motor Gallery: Art Rigs and Rugged Elegance”, our curated immersive car exhibit in front of the Historic Ward Rooming House.

Hampton Art Lovers presents the Point Comfort Art Fair + Show in Historic Overtown at the Historic Ward Rooming House during Miami Art Week/Art Basel/Soul Basel 2024. Point Comfort comprises an art exhibition and the Indaba Lounge Series at the Historic Ward Rooming House and Gardens. They are sponsored by the City of Miami Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Revitalization Agency & Art of Black (Greater Miami Convention & Tourism Bureau), 100 Black Men of Florida, Miami-Dade Economic & Advocacy Trust, FIU-Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, E11even Vodka and Duke + Dame Whiskey.

The name “Point Comfort” derives from colonial Virginia where the first captives from the West African Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola) arrived in 1619. The people of Ndongo and other African tribes lost their native tongues and many of their traditions here in America. Through tremendous adversity, remnants of these lost traditions continue to express themselves in today's African-American community's song, dance, art, and crafts. "Point Comfort Art Fair + Show" celebrates those remnants. “We're not just selling art” – The show is a curated, multi-dimensional experience designed to tell the powerful narrative of the African-American experience through art and conversation. POINT COMFORT is a teachable moment, designed to pique curiosity, share legacies and facilitate the purchase of Black artwork. Point Comfort provides a platform for African-American masters of American fine art at the largest art exposition in North America (Miami Art Week). Providing invaluable exposure to an international audience of art professionals, collectors, lovers, and patrons of the arts.