Kwame Brathwaite's photograph of a young woman, Untitled (Portrait, Reels as Necklace), c. 1972

Upcoming Exhibition

Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building

  • Ticketing Information

    Admission is always free and passes are not required

The first exhibition to consider photography’s impact on a cultural and aesthetic movement that celebrated Black history, identity, and beauty.

Uniting around civil rights and freedom movements of the 1960s and 1970s, many visual artists, poets, playwrights, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers expressed hope and dignity through their art. These creative efforts became known as the Black Arts Movement.  

Photography was central to the movement, attracting all kinds of artists—from street photographers and photojournalists to painters and graphic designers. This expansive exhibition presents 150 examples tracing the Black Arts Movement from its roots to its lingering impacts, from 1955 to 1985. Explore the bold vision shaped by generations of artists including Billy Abernathy, Romare Bearden, Kwame Brathwaite, Roy DeCarava, Doris Derby, Emory Douglas, Barkley Hendricks, Barbara McCullough, Betye Saar, and Ming Smith.  

Explore selected works

  • Shown from the waist up, a Black woman, Ethel Shariff, wears a nun’s habit and light-colored clothing as she stands in front of about two dozen more Black nuns in this square black and white photograph. Ethel is in sharp focus at the center of the picture. She looks steadily at us with wide-set eyes, a rounded nose, and full lips in her oval face. The habit covers her head and falls beyond her shoulders. A scarf is tucked into the high neck of her white garment, which buttons up the front. She wears chunky earrings and a glimmering gold necklace with a small box-shaped pendant. She and the other women stand with their hands clasped behind their backs. Those behind Ethel stand in formation, creating a loose V. They are out of focus, their faces a variety of tones.

Organization
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The exhibition is curated by Philip Brookman, consulting curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, and Deborah Willis, university professor and chair of the department of photography and imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts and director of the Center for Black Visual Culture at New York University.

Other venues
The J. Paul Getty Museum, February 24–May 24, 2026
Mississippi Museum of Art, July 25–November 1, 2026

Sponsors
Major support is provided by the Trellis Fund.

The exhibition is made possible by The Shared Earth Foundation.

Additional support is provided by Andrea Kirstein and The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Inc., New York.

The accompanying publication is supported through a generous grant from Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman.

Banner detail: Kwame Brathwaite, Untitled (Portrait, Reels as Necklace), c. 1972, inkjet print, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Funds from Renée Harbers Liddell and Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, © Kwame Brathwaite

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