A R T

Kamoinge: a group of people working together

Established in NYC 1963, Kamoinge’s mission statement remains, “To HONOR, document, preserve, and represent the history and culture of the African Diaspora with integrity and respect for humanity through the lens of Black photographers.” The Whitney exhibition, Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop highlights the collective’s formative years. The show will run until March 28th, 2021 and the exhibition website is very interactive. You can view the installation, learn about the artists, listen to virtual guides, and virtual events are scheduled.

The group successfully formed a community and fostered knowledge to future generations, simultaneously developing their own concepts. It was interesting to learn what motivated the photographers to make work including the civil rights movement and jazz. For an example, here is a link to an audio recording explaining Ming Smith’s experimental portrait of Sun Ra in 1978.

Some of my favorite images from the collection are; James Mannas Jr.’s Peeping Seawall Beach Boy-Sea, Georgetown, Guyana, 1972, Daniel Dawson’s Backscape #1, 1967, and Herman Howard’s March on Washington, 1963.

Exhibition themes and logistics are discussed in this talk between assistant curator Carrie Springer and curatorial assistant Mia Matthias.

Dannielle Bowman, a Cooper Union & Yale Alumni Awarded 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize

Photographer Dannielle Bowman is 2020’s Aperture Portfolio Prize recipient for her series What Had Happened. The images document the lives of Black Americans while considering the context of the phrase “what had happened”.

Writer Marjon Carlos and Bowman discuss the series, her previous work, commissions, and her process. It was comforting when Bowman spoke of the ‘art school hangover’ and how she’s worked through it. They also briefly discuss Bowman’s involvement in Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project which is a questioning and confrontation of America’s history.

F A S H I O N

Conceptual Fashion Pushing Boundaries of Wearability

I-D’s article Meeting the Young Designers Reimagining Fashion Silhouettes asks readers to consider how fashion reflects social movements. The following designers are interviewed.

Marco Ribeiro explores circles on his garments, eluding to unity and equality. His editorial photographs are also really compelling because of their colorful and environmental nature.

Sun Woo Chang’s structures are inspired by her experience of moving and the feeling of belonging or not belonging.

Chet Lo’s work has developed through experimentation resulting in a sort of spiky texture that reminds me of the bubble shirts of the early 2000s.

Terrence Zhou’s creates work pulling directly from his personal experience of existing. Aspects of his personality are manifested psychically through color and form.

L O C A L

Jeremiah Onifadé’s Merging of South Dallas and Nigeria

Jeremiah Onifadé’s show Surreal Figures opened at SITE131 on January 9th and will run until March 27th, 2021. Onifadé’s paintings consider the commonalities between the Kaduna Riots that he witnessed as a kid and America’s most recent protest. Art&Seek’s article Artist Jeremiah Onifadé’s Work Captures Life Between Two Worlds: South Dallas And Nigeria delves into his process of creating symbology within brightly depicted scenes. Onifadé’s previous work confront dualities between his childhood and adulthood as well like Blue Dot at a South Dallas house turned gallery for the occasion.

M O R E

America’s History of a Coup

TW: Violence & Racism

The attack on the capital January 6th, 2021, although disturbing to see, did not come as a surprise. After learning about the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, America’s only successful coup, and its similarities to what happened this month, I was motivated to share this history.

Published January 8th, 2021, Race and the Capitol Riot and American Story We’ve Heard Before is a conversation between NPR’s Audie Cornish and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, a professor of African American studies at Princeton. Wilmington’s Lie’ Author Traces the Rise of White Supremacy in A Southern City, also produced by NPR was released January 13th, 2020. It is a more in-depth discussion hosted by Dave Davies. The guest is author of Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup Of 1898 And The Rise Of White Supremacy and investigative reporter David Zucchino. Both podcasts address the history and lasting effects of the Wilmington insurrection.

Before 1898 Wilmington was a city that flourished with Black businesses, elected officials, police, newspapers, and so on. White supremacists couldn’t stand this, which lead to a plan to take over and deprive Black people ability to serve in an office or vote, etc. It was a strategic effort involving other cities, white media, propaganda, and militias like the Red Shirt militia, a terrorist group that threatened to kill Black citizens if they voted. The white supremacist succeeded, and their chosen elected officials took place. After they drove three Black aldermen from office at gunpoint, no black citizens served on the city council until 1972. The literacy test required to vote was placed into law after the stolen election and lasted until 1965. They burned down the Black establishments and murdered roughly 60 people leaving citizens to flee for their life. For perspective in 1898, the Black population of Wilmington was 56%, and today it is 18%.