Through sculpture, Reverend Joyce McDonald crafts moving testimonies to themes that have shaped her life: hope, grace, and serenity, but also hardship, loss, and devotion. Her work often depicts figures in repose or embrace, embodying the strength, support, and unconditional love that has sustained her life. The first museum exhibition devoted to her work, Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald surveys the artist’s prolific output since the 1990s, bringing together early works in air-dry clay and found materials with recent glazed ceramics. An artist member of Visual AIDS and a self-described testimonial artist, McDonald is open about sharing her own story—“from the shooting gallery to the art gallery”—to inspire confidence and dignity in others. The exhibition presents a nuanced view of McDonald’s biography, incorporating archival materials that trace her family and upbringing in Brooklyn’s Farragut houses as well as her decades of exhibiting art with Visual AIDS and her church.
Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald at The Bronx Museum (September 5, 2025–January 4, 2026) is curated by Kyle Croft, Executive Director, Visual AIDS. A catalog co-published by Visual AIDS and The Bronx Museum will accompany the exhibition, featuring essays by Croft and Dr. Jareh Das, along with an interview with the artist by Visual AIDS Programs Manager Blake Paskal.