Barkley L. Hendricks - Icon for My Man Superman (Superman never saved any black people - Bobby Seale)
Where: Tate Modern, London
Pictures Allowed: Yes
Kid Friendly: Yes
Open: Sunday – Thursday 10.00 -18.00, Friday – Saturday 10.00 -22.00
Price: £15 / £13.10
The Soul of a Nation exhibition explores artistic dialogues of African American art history. It documents and celebrates the work of Black artists from 1963, at the height of the Civil Rights movement.
The exhibition powerfully addresses a number of themes, a seemingly complex conversation and the way in which these artists have responded to monumental political and cultural change. Especially at a time when many artists were excluded from mainstream museums, but as a result, positioned their work beyond conventional gallery spaces - which spurred on and mobilised black and local audiences.
A relatively large exhibition encompassed of 12 rooms. Each room has a very distinct, brave tone of voice, some being more severe than others. It is essentially a reminder of the bloodshed, atrocities and adversity African Americans faced at this time – and continue to face.
Regardless of ones ethnicity, this is a must see, a well-balanced and honest exhibition on the Black experience and a prominent point in history. The exhibition theme can be viewed as a process, beginning with unyielding violence against blacks, the resistance and how they overcame this, and eventually leaving you with a sense slight sense of optimism.
Where: Stedelijk, Amsterdam
Pictures Allowed: Yes
Kid Friendly: Yes
Open: Saturday – Thursday 10.00 -18.00, Friday 10.00 -22.00
Price: €17,50 / €9
Zanele Muholi’s self-titled solo show is her first in the Netherlands. The South African photographer, visual artist and self-proclaimed "insider" for the LGBTQI community has captured images of the black lesbian, gay and transgender community.
The selection of photographic work includes images from the award-winning series Faces and Phases, Brave Beauties - a collection of portraits of feminine gay men and transgender women and her headlining show Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness, 2015 to the present). The manipulation of light and use of props in Muholi’s self-portraits accentuate her blackness, defying the stereotypical image of a black woman. The artist uses hair as a primary material, as it is often viewed as a central facet of African identity and expression.
Through Muholi’s evocative photographs she sheds light on a community who have constitutionally been protected since 1996, yet remain at risk of being abused, discriminated, sexual assaulted and victims of hate crimes. This exhibition is a visual history of black queer and trans lives in South Africa and beyond.
Zanele Muholi - Bester I, Mayotte, 2015