“I like to paint with the intention of infusing joy, peace, humanity in my work.” —Susan Jarvis Ragland
The Politics of Joy, an exhibition by artists Susan Jarvis Ragland and Nina Grier of Historical Dream, is on view at Main Line Unitarian Church through May 10, 2026.
Ragland is a self-taught artist with a 30-year career whose paintings center on joyful images of Black people in their ordinary lives—affirming their humanity and inviting all viewers into a recognition of universally-shared joy. She was a 2024–25 Black Artist Fellow with Philadelphia Mural Arts, and her work is held in collections at the Colored Girls’ Museum, George Washington University, Temple University, and in homes across the country.
Nina Grier founded Historical Dream in 2015 to bring the full range of people who shaped this country into public view—from Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass to lesser-known figures like Wong Chin Foo, who advocated for Chinese rights in the 19th century. “It’s like an emblematic olive branch that reaches across the past to bridge a present and future America,” Grier has said.
The exhibition is viewable on Sunday mornings and by appointment through May 10, 2026.