Kwame Brathwaite, Grandassa Models at the Merton Simpson Gallery, New York, ca. 1967; from "Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful" (Aperture, 2019) Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.The exhibition “Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite,” organized by Aperture, will be presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts from Feb. 7-March 25.
An opening reception is planned for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. At 6 p.m., Alabama Jazz Hall of Famer Eric Essix will perform a concert of songs inspired by the civil rights era, in AEIVA, 1221 10th Ave. South. AEIVA is open noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free and open to the public. Visit uab.edu/aeiva for more information. "Black is Beautiful" is part of "Forging Justice," the City of Birmingham's 60th commemoration of the 1963 civil and human rights movement.
Known as the “keeper of the images,” Brathwaite deployed his photography from the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s as an agent of social change. Born in Brooklyn to a Caribbean American family and raised in the Bronx, Brathwaite traces his artistic and political sensibilities to his youth. After seeing the horrific images of Emmett Till published in Jet magazine in 1955, Brathwaite and his brother Elombe Brath turned to art and political activism, absorbing the ideas of the Jamaican-born activist Marcus Garvey, who promoted a pan-Africanist vision for Black economic liberation and freedom.
Brathwaite and Brath founded the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios, a collective of artists and creatives that organized jazz concerts in clubs around Harlem and the Bronx, featuring such luminaries as Miles Davis, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach. In addition to promoting musical events, the group advanced a message of economic empowerment and political consciousness in the Harlem community, emphasizing the power of self-presentation and style. “Think Black, Buy Black” became a rallying cry. In the 1960s, Brathwaite and his collective also sought to address how white conceptions of beauty and body image affected Black women. To do so, they popularized the transformative idea “Black Is Beautiful” and founded the Grandassa Models, a modeling troupe of locally cast women who appeared in annual fashion shows at Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
Kwame Brathwaite, Sikolo Brathwaite wearing a headpiece designed by Carolee Prince, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios, Harlem, ca. 1968; from "Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful" (Aperture, 2019). Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los AngelesMusic plays a pivotal role in this exhibition. Enjoy a curated Spotify playlist selected by the photographer and his son, Kwame S. Brathwaite, director of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive.
The texts in this exhibition are adapted from Tanisha C. Ford’s essay in the accompanying book, “Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful” (Aperture, 2019).
This exhibition is organized by Kwame S. Brathwaite and Aperture. It is curated by Kwame S. Brathwaite and Michael Famighetti. The exhibition “Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite” and the accompanying Aperture publication are made possible, in part, by generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles.
The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts presentation is organized by Tina Ruggieri, assistant curator.
Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation, connects the photo community and its audiences with the most inspiring work, the sharpest ideas and each other — in print, in person and online. Created in 1952 by photographers and writers as “common ground for the advancement of photography,” Aperture today is a multiplatform publisher and center for the photo community. From its base in New York, Aperture produces, publishes and presents a variety of photography projects and programs locally, across the United States and around the world. For more information, visit aperture.org.
Stream image: Kwame Brathwaite, Self-portrait, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios, Harlem, ca. 1964; from "Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful" (Aperture, 2019) Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.