Halima Taha Concludes Transformative Tenure at Hammonds House Museum
Halima Taha Concludes Transformative Tenure at Hammonds House Museum, Leaving a Living Legacy of Art, History, and Vision
Hammonds House Museum announces that Halima Taha will step down from her role as Artistic Chair, effective April 30, to complete her forthcoming book and expand her cultural learning platform, TahaThinksCulture. Taha will continue to support the museum on a limited basis during the transition period and remains available as a consultant for future collaborations that advance the museum’s mission.
For 36 years, Hammonds House Museum has stood as the first freestanding museum in the South dedicated to Black visual culture from across the global African Diaspora. In a city renowned for its extraordinary university museums—institutions that have long documented and celebrated American art by artists of African descent—Hammonds House occupies a singular place. It is not a cavernous, impersonal museum of white walls and echoing halls. Instead, it is a living Victorian home whose Eastlake architecture invites visitors into a warm, intimate encounter with fine art. Once the residence of prominent Atlanta collector Dr. O. T. Hammonds, the house itself is a vessel of memory, artistry, and community.
During her tenure, Taha deepened this sense of place and history.
In just two and a half years, she has revitalized the museum’s artistic, architectural, and public identity—expanding its cultural footprint, deepening its historical resonance, and elevating its visibility locally, nationally, and internationally.
After removing the carpet in the West End Room, she discovered and preserved the outline of the kindergarten rug from the first free kindergarten in the West End—established by the home’s previous owner, Madge A. Bigham (1874–1957), one of Atlanta’s pioneers in the city’s free kindergarten movement. Bigham, a kindergarten teacher and author of more than 30 children’s books, expanded the home after World War I to support her educational work. As the neighborhood shifted and more Black families moved in, she remained, and the kindergarten became the first integrated free kindergarten in the community. When the floors were refurbished, Taha insisted that the faint ring marking the original rug remain visible because of its historic significance, ensuring that this story continues to be part of the museum’s living narrative.
Taha also strengthened the museum’s public‑facing identity through new institutional signage, a comprehensive campus map, and the first permanent installation of the John Rhoden Sculpture Garden. In a landmark achievement, she secured the donation of eleven sculptures by internationally acclaimed sculptor John Rhoden from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. With these works, she created the first and only sculpture garden dedicated to Rhoden’s legacy, transforming the museum’s grounds into an immersive outdoor gallery where the breadth of his artistic styles—bronze, wood, abstraction, figuration—adorns the landscape and invites visitors into a contemplative dialogue with his work.
She further expanded the museum’s artistic footprint by commissioning the fabrication of The Ancestral Gate, originally designed by the late Valerie Maynard, a year after the museum opened in 1988. Working closely with the Valerie Maynard Foundation, Taha ensured that Maynard’s vision was finally realized on the museum’s campus, honoring and extending the artist’s legacy.
Her curatorial leadership brought depth, rigor, and emotional resonance to the museum’s exhibitions. Taha curated Precious Lovell: The Fabric of Our Lives — The Ties That Bind and Ex‑Domestication; Rhythm and Resilience: The Art of Sam Middleton; Sacred Space: Brandywine Workshop and Archive; and Converging Realities: The John Rhoden Sculpture Garden and the Hammonds House Museum Permanent Collection. She also provided artistic leadership and oversight for Beau McCall: Blues, Divas and Memories (curated by Souleo) and Black Zeitgeist: Atlanta, the Visual Arts and the National Black Arts Festival (curated by Anne Collins Smith and Dr. Amalia Amaki).
Through these exhibitions, commissions, and interpretive choices, Taha infused the museum with renewed vitality—aligning its public image with the dynamism of Atlanta’s arts community while elevating its national and international visibility.
“It has been an honor to serve the Hammonds House Museum and contribute to its evolution as a vital cultural institution,” said Taha. “I look forward to supporting its continued growth in ways that align with its mission and long‑term goals.”
The Board and staff of Hammonds House Museum extend their appreciation for Taha’s service, leadership, and contributions to the institution’s growth. The museum remains committed to building on this momentum as it prepares for its next chapter.
