Black community, identity, and power celebrated in new touring exhibition (PHOTOS)
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A new photography exhibition celebrating Black life in its myriad of forms opens at The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver this week.
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, an international touring exhibition organized by Aperture, opens on Friday, February 24.
The Polygon Gallery’s Elliott Ramsey curated As We Rise, which showcases over 100 photographs from the Wedge Collection, dedicated to work by Black artists.
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“The Wedge Collection brings together rare images, iconic photographs, and new works that reach across continents and over decades,” said Ramsey in a release. “From the 1930s’ Harlem Renaissance, through post-colonial Bamako, to contemporary Toronto, As We Rise celebrates the polyphony of Black life — and the nuanced approaches of Black photographers in representing these scenes of love, leisure, and resistance.”
Dawit L. Petros, Hadenbes, 2005 Chromogenic print. From As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy of the artist/Bradley Ertaskiran
Dr. Kenneth Montague established The Wedge Collection in 1997. Today it is known as Canada’s largest privately owned collection committed to championing Black artists.
Montague told Daily Hive that he is interested in exploring Black life through the lenses of community, identity, and power.
Jamel Shabazz, Best Friends, Brooklyn, New York, 1981 Chromogenic print. From As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy of the artist
“There is a focus on storytelling through showcasing emerging artists alongside established ones,” explained Montague. “Even as a child, I always wanted to spend a longer time with images I saw in magazines, TV, or galleries. This eventually grew into a collecting habit.”
The exhibition’s title and works are taken from the photobook As We Rise, recently published by the Aperture Foundation. However, the title also has a personal meaning to Montague.
Samuel Fosso, ‘70s Lifestyle, 1975–78 Gelatin silver print. © Samuel Fosso. From As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy of JM.PATRAS/PARIS
“My late father Spurgeon Montague, a teacher who emigrated from Jamaica to Canada, used the phrase ‘lifting as we rise’ as a family motto,” shared Montague. “It suggests that as we do well, we need to pull up others in our own community. In many ways, this represents my own ethos and is reflected in my art-collecting activities.”
Photographers spotlighted in The Polygon Gallery exhibition include Gordon Parks, a civil rights-era photography icon, Texas Isaiah, the first trans photographer to shoot an edition cover for Vogue Magazine, and Malick Sidibé, renowned as one of the most important photographers of post-colonial Africa.
Kennedi Carter, Untitled (Self-Portrait), 2020 Digital print on Hanhemüle Photo Rag. From As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021), courtesy of the artist
Other artists included in As We Rise include Jamel Shabazz, a photographer working in Brooklyn as hip hop was becoming a music industry force, and Kehinde Wiley, a Nigerian-American artist known for referencing art historical portraiture in his photographs
“I hope that viewers will see a semblance of themselves, their families, and friends in the many portraits on offer,” said Montague. “The exhibition is a celebration of Black joy, not oppression. I think everyone aspires to have their lives reflected in this way.”
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic will run from February 24 to May 14. Guided tours of the exhibit will be offered every Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon.
As We Rise: Photography From The Black Atlantic
When: Wednesday to Sunday from February 24 to May 14, 2023
Time: 10 am to 5 pm (open until 8 pm on Thursdays)
Where: The Polygon Gallery – 101 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver
Admission: By donation
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