The BIGGS Museum

Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands - The HBCU Marching Bands Series
2025-09-04 - 2026-01-25
Exhibition Featured on the 3rd Floor
Battle of the Bands, Keith Duncan’s most recent body of work, celebrates the vibrant tradition of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands. This exhibition features large-scale fabric paintings of fifteen Southern HBCU bands, along with human-scale fabric paintings and smaller works on paper depicting each band’s drum major.
Keith Duncan is a contemporary artist and educator based in New Orleans, Louisiana. A visual storyteller, Duncan draws inspiration from personal narrative, community engagement, news media, art history, Black culture and the traditions of New Orleans. While his studio practice is firmly rooted in painting and drawing, his process is expansive, adroitly incorporating paper collage and textile art. Duncan’s layered integration of wallpaper and textiles is deliberate, drawn from the influences of ancestral heritage, Southern tradition, and contemporary aesthetics of material exploration. While referencing African textile traditions and Southern traditions in handcrafts (especially the quilters of Gee’s Bend) – his formal practice is informed by the material exploration of artists including Faith Ringgold and Mickalene Thomas, while his gestural figuration and painterly style can be compared to artists such as Willie Birch and Robert Colescott. At its core, though, Duncan’s practice is narrative, and his voice is wholly his own.
With Battle of the Bands, Keith Duncan displays his full formal acumen and narrative prowess as a painter. Like all of Duncan’s work, it is figurative, personal and rooted in the celebration of his community. Through telling this story, he focuses the viewer’s attention on the cultural significance of the HBCU marching band tradition. It also opens dialogue around the rich history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the increasingly important role they play at this moment in American history.

Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands, The HBCU Marching Bands Series is organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Support provided by Art Bridges

Alongside this featured exhibition, The Biggs will host “Approaching Storm,” a show focused on the marching band at Delaware State University (DSU). The university is nationally ranked as one of the top HBCUs in the country.

Keith Duncan

Southern University Marching Band

2023

Acrylic, marker and fabric on unstretched canvas

74.5 x 108 inches

© Keith Duncan. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

Keith Duncan Morehouse College Drum Major 2023 Acrylic, marker and patterned paper on paper 24 x 18 inches © Keith Duncan. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

Keith Duncan

Howard University Drum Major

2023

Acrylic, marker and patterned paper on paper

24 x 18 inches

© Keith Duncan. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

Keith Duncan Grambling State University Marching Band 2022 Acrylic, marker and fabric on unstretched canvas 73 x 102 inches © Keith Duncan. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

Keith Duncan Alabama State University Drum Major 2024 62 x 49 inches Acrylic, marker and fabric on unstretched canvas © Keith Duncan. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York

Echoes of the Storm: a DSU Collaborative Exhibition
2025-09-18 - 2026-01-11
This fall, the Biggs Museum of American Art will spotlight Delaware State University (DSU) and its celebrated marching band as part of a museum-wide celebration of HBCU culture, anchored by the exhibition Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands, The HBCU Marching Bands Series.
On view from September 4, 2025 through January 25, 2026, Battle of the Bands features 45 large-scale fabric paintings and works on paper by acclaimed New Orleans-based artist Keith Duncan. These vibrant compositions bring to life the pageantry, tradition, and community pride of fifteen Southern HBCU marching bands and their drum majors.
Alongside this major exhibition, the Biggs will host Echoes of the Storm, on view September 18, 2025 through January 11, 2026, focusing exclusively on the history and impact of the DSU Marching Band, Approaching Storm. This show will feature artwork created by DSU students, archival artifacts, and materials highlighting the university’s legacy as one of the nation’s top-ranked HBCUs. The exhibition opens with a community happy hour reception on September 18, 2025.
The Biggs & DSU collaboration is rooted in student engagement and leadership. This fall, five DSU interns have joined The Biggs’ team, working across departments to gain real-world museum experience. In addition, seven DSU students are contributing directly to the development and installation of Echoes of the Storm, curating content, researching band history, and preparing materials for display.
The celebration continues with a special live performance by the DSU Marching Band at The Biggs’ major annual fundraiser, a farm-to-table Harvest Party, on September 20, 2025.
Together, Battle of the Bands and Echoes of the Storm offer a powerful look at the past, present, and future of HBCU marching band culture through world-class art and meaningful community partnerships.

Awash in Color: Recent Work from the Delaware Watercolor Society
2025-10-02 - 2026-01-11
This juried exhibition showcases outstanding works created by members of the Delaware Watercolor Society within the past five years. Featuring a diverse range of subjects, styles, and techniques, the exhibition highlights the versatility and expressive power of watercolor as an artistic medium. Visitors are invited to experience the creativity and talent of regional artists whose work reflects both contemporary perspectives and time-honored traditions in watercolor painting.
