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Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power and Narrative


April 20 – June 15, 2019 Opening Reception: April 20th – Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm Artists’ Talk: TBD  Curators: Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis  Galerie Myrtis and The Agora Culture present Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power, and Narrative. In asserting the beauty of the black body, affirming its power—and societal and historical place, curators Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis offer a counter narrative to the racist archetypes that evolved from 18th century minstrelsy, and its negative stereotyping of African Americans that prevails today.  The exhibition explores contemporary notions of black identity through photography by Tawny Chatmon, and painters Alfred Conteh, Jerrell Gibbs, and Jas Knight; and offers an investigation of blackface from a historical perspective presented in paintings by Arvie Smith and multidisciplinary works by Felandus Thames. The addition of a compiling video by filmmaker Karina Griffith captured in Berlin, Germany evokes the maligning of blackness through an international lens.

April 20 – June 15, 2019

Opening Reception: April 20th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm Artists’ Talk: June 15th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Galerie Myrtis and The Agora Culture present Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power, and Narrative. In asserting the beauty of the black body, affirming its power — and societal and historical place, curators Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis offer a counter narrative to the racist archetypes that evolved from 18th century minstrelsy, and its negative stereotyping of African Americans that prevails today.

Featured Artists: Tawny Chatmon, Alfred Conteh, Jerrell Gibbs, Karina Griffith, Jas Knight, Arvie Smith and Felandus Thames.

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