Café Conversations: Black Bodies: 19th Century Photographs of Enslaved and Free People

Cafe Conversations: Black Bodies: 19th Century Photographs of Enslaved and Free People
With Dr. Earnestine Jenkins, Professor of Art History-Visual Culture Studies, University of Memphis

Free with registration

We are thrilled to partner with the University of Memphis Art History department for a Café Conversation mini-series “Race, Art History, and the Museum”. In this series we will examine your collection at the Brooks and question how the Black image has been depicted throughout centuries of artmaking. Each conversation will cover a different era in art as we interrogate why the Black image is either present or largely absent from the art history discourse. We will look at different mediums in art, from painting to sculpture to photography, examining the representation of Blacks in Western art, as well as the works of several Black artists in your collection collection at the Brooks. The series will culminate with a roundtable discussion between the art history professors and Braden Hixson, Donor Relations Manager.

The first event in this series will begin with a focus on a special piece in your collection at the Brooks, From Here I Saw What Happened, and I Cried by Carrie Mae Weems. Dr. Jenkins’ analysis of the Weems’ installation will provide historical context and introduce the series. She will focus on the representation of Blacks in American visual culture during the 19th century.

Dr. Jenkins is the author of Race, Representation, and Photography in 19th Century Memphis: from Slavery to Jim Crow. She was recently named one of the Top Five Black Women to Know in the Art World by Forbes magazine.

A moderated Q&A will follow the presentation and you can submit your questions early by emailing Braden Hixson.

Grab a cocktail and meet us on Zoom! This conversation won’t be the same without you.