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Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985
This landmark group exhibition is the first major institutional presentation to examine how photography and photo-based media helped define and shape the Black Arts Movement, a cultural force parallel to the Civil Rights Movement that emphasized Black self-expression, identity, and artistic autonomy. It highlights how artists used photography, collage, video, and installation to document lived experience, build community narratives, and assert visual sovereignty.
“Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985,” on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, USA, from September 21, 2025 to January 11, 2026, is a group exhibition featuring works by Romare Bearden.
Exhibition Description
Features about 150 works by more than 100 artists, including Romare Bearden alongside Dawoud Bey, Roy DeCarava, Kwame Brathwaite, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, and others. Works span photography, video, collage, painting, installation, and other media, illustrating a wide understanding of how photography intersected with artistic practice and Black cultural expression from 1955 to 1985. The exhibition foregrounds themes such as self-representation, community, media engagement, fashion and beauty, and ritual, showing how photographers and artists contributed to both cultural critique and cultural affirmation.
