REFLECTIONS IN BLACK: MING SMITH AND LIZ JOHNSON ARTHUR
The fourth lecture in the PHOTOSTORIES series is on Wednesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. This time, the theme of the meeting will be African-American women photographers who broke dominant narratives and stereotypes.
In 1963, Roy DeCarava founded the Kamoinge Workshop, an artistic collective of African-American photographers that was a response to the marginalization of black artists in the American art world. Kamoinge became a key point in the history of American photography, not only supporting the individual voice of artists, but also becoming a symbol of the pursuit of recognition, social justice, and equality within art.
Among the members of Kamoinge, Ming Smith, the only woman in the collective, held a special place. Her work was distinguished not only by its technical proficiency, but also by a profound reflection on the role of photography in conveying personal stories. Smith, combining documentary and artistic elements, created images that crossed the boundaries of traditional reportage. Her work was not just documentation – it created subtle stories about everyday life. Her photographs, full of emotion and deep commitment, go beyond the stereotypical representations of African Americans in art.
Smith’s profile will be a starting point for a conversation about selected African American female photographers such as Liz Johnson Arthur, whose photographs celebrate the identity and culture of the black diaspora, and Carrie Mae Weems, whose work combines photography with performance, exploring issues of race, gender, and history. By analyzing their work, we will focus on how these artists are changing the face of photography, introducing new narratives and alternative representations of the experiences of the black community.
LEADING:
Aleksandra Szwedo – art historian, curator, and photography researcher, specializing in the history of women in this field and alternative photographic narratives. Author of the lecture series “One. Historie fotografek” and “Photo Brut. Fotografia na granice”. As an assistant professor at the National Museum in Wrocław, she examines changes in the perception of photography, from a documentary medium to a tool of feminist expression, especially in the context of selfie feminism. Her research and curatorial activity aims to discover and promote the work of women who have been marginalized or ignored in the history of photography.
Admission is free.