This collection honors the legacy of the Gandy Dancer, the unsung hero of America’s railroad industry. For us, three cousins who come together as artists, our great-grandfather, Warner E. Rice, serves as the nexus of this exploration. He was a Gandy Dancer in Minnesota, a Caller who led his crew with rhythm and resilience, and whose work has reverberated through our collective history, culture, and art. 

Gandy Dancers existed from the 1910’s through the 1940’s as hired hands working locally on various train lines to realign railroad tracks that gradually shifted out of place from use. The men literally lifted and moved millions of pounds of railroad tracks. As a crew, it was imperative that they moved together with precision, lifting and shifting in unison. For us, as artists, this exhibit is a reflection of that ideal: we are each moving toward the same goal, in unity and in our collective strength.

The visual art we create, like the labor of the Gandy Dancers, carries an inherent rhythm passed down through generations. Just as Warner E. Rice, our great-grandfather, used his voice as the Caller to guide men through the grueling labor, we, too, seek to call forth the power of our shared histories and resilience, and the collective strength of our artistic expression. 

The Gandy Dancer’s story cannot be separated from the racial and social contexts of its time. In the early 20th century, Gandy Dancers worked in a deeply segregated society where Black men were relegated to the toughest, most dangerous work, while white foremen held authority, even when their knowledge of the work was less than that of the Black laborers supervised.

Tix are FREE & DONATION BASED

Opening March 28th 5p-9p
Showing March 29th through April 13th
During regular gallery hours.

As descendants, we are driven by a sense of responsibility to carry his legacy forward through our art. Our great grandfather’s labor was not only physical; it spiritual, artistic and reflective evidence of his identity as a Black man in America, a performance that combined labor with toils of freedom. We have spent our lives navigating the intersections of race, history, and creativity. Each of us has carried the influence of Warner E. Rice’s legacy in our own way: in the rhythmic patterning of a painting; the fluidity of movement in sculpture; in the syncopation of words, and call-and-response of poetry. Each of us has felt the echoes of those Gandy Dancer rhythms reverberating through our individual practices. 

The Gandy Dancer’s role in shaping modern music and culture has often been overlooked, but the influence is undeniable. From Lead Belly’s tribute songs to the birth of blues, rock-and-roll, and eventually hip-hop, the Gandy Dancer’s rhythmic chants laid the groundwork for much of the music that defines American culture today. The act of working to rhythm, the practice of freestyling calls that echo through the air, is akin to jazz improvisation and lyrical innovations of hip-hop.

As we move forward, this exhibit calls on us to recognize the cultural and artistic depth of the Gandy Dancer’s work. The railroad tracks, once so heavy with labor, now stand as metaphors for the track of history—our track. As artists, we are working to moving the track forward, inch by inch, call by call, painting by painting, print by print.  We have chosen to take up the mantle of the Gandy Dancer, not as workers of the past, but as visionaries of the future.

In the 21st century, we face a new kind of labor. It is the labor of truth-telling, of remembrance, of cultural reparation. The art we create, like the work of the Gandy Dancer, is both arduous and necessary. It is an act of resistance. It is an act of healing. It is an act of liberation. Through our work, we call attention to the forgotten histories, the erased labor, and the unacknowledged artistry of Black men and women who have built this country and shaped its culture, often without recognition. 

The occupational art of calling is being lost with the railroad retirees in the United States. Our task is clear: to ensure that the tracks, though worn and weathered, are moved forward. Even if just by small increments. This exhibit is both an act of preservation and of progress, a call to remember the forgotten laborers of history, and a call to honor their artistry as a tool of liberation. We invite you to join us on this journey, to listen to the rhythm of our collective labor, and to feel the power of the Gandy Dancer’s legacy in the art we present.