Terence Hammonds: Soul is a Ham Hock in Your Cornflakes on view November 20, 2026–March 28, 2027

Download Press Release (PDF)

CINCINNATI — September 9, 2026— The Cincinnati Art Museum will present a new exhibition this fall, featuring local artist Terence Hammonds. A lifetime visitor to the museum, Hammonds has combined select objects from across the museum’s collection with a new body of his own work to illuminate the resilience of Cincinnati’s modern Black community and reimagine American histories. Pairing museum objects with his printed-ceramics, fabrics and wallpaper, Hammonds constructs inspired vignettes layered with visual and lived experiences that celebrate aspiration, community and acts of radical love.   

Featuring approximately 50 works by the artist, Terence Hammonds: Soul is a Ham Hock in Your Cornflakes (November 20, 2026–March 28, 2027) adopts its title from Funkadelic’s 1970 classic “What Is Soul?” The phrase reflects Hammonds’ aim to drop a metaphorical ham hock into the museum’s cornflakes by challenging and diversifying previous perceptions and interpretations of artworks from its collection.

“This exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum feels like a full-circle moment,” explains Hammonds. “It gives me the opportunity to return to the place that first sparked my imagination and to engage directly with objects that have inspired me for so long. By selecting works from the collection and creating new pieces in response to them, I hope to both challenge and expand how these objects are seen, offering new ways of understanding and experiencing them.”

Born in 1976, Hammonds grew up in Cincinnati’s Over‑the‑Rhine neighborhood. He attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts before continuing his studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. From 2010–2018, he served as Director of Artist Outreach at Rookwood Pottery, a historic Cincinnati institution founded in the late 1880s. Hammonds’ solo exhibitions span both international and regional venues, including The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China (2016), the IFÖ Center in Bromolla, Sweden (2019), the Taft Museum of Art (2023) and The Weston Art Gallery (2026).

Hammonds has works currently represented in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection and previously was a Rosenthal Education Center (REC) Artist in Residence in 2020.

The exhibition will be on view to the public for free in the Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell Gallery and the Manuel and Rhoda Mayerson Gallery (G124 and G125) located across from the Terrace Café. No tickets are required for this exhibition. General admission and parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum are also free. Photography is permitted, but no flash. On social media, use the hashtag #HammondsHamHock.

Visit cincy.art/hammonds for a full list of related programming.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum features a diverse, encyclopedic art collection of more than 73,000 works spanning 6,000 years. In addition to displaying its own broad collection, the museum conducts extensive research and creates and organizes several exhibitions each year. It also hosts national and international traveling exhibitions. Through these critical projects and art-related programs, activities and special events, the museum contributes to a more vibrant Cincinnati by inspiring its people and connecting its communities.

Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the tens of thousands of people who give generously to the annual ArtsWave Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as its members. Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Generous support for the museum’s extended Thursday hours is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. Exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. Accessibility accommodations are available. Visit cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

###