Organized in conjunction with our forthcoming exhibition LaToya Ruby Frazier: Monuments of Solidarity, this Forum on Contemporary Photography brings together a diverse range of artists, curators, and cultural theorists to celebrate the expressions of creativity, mutual support, intergenerational collaboration, and community organization that persist within—and endeavor to transform—asymmetrical systems of power. Frazier’s photographic installations, which she calls “monuments for workers’ thoughts,” act as a model for an art of solidarity, but the term “monument” does not denote mere commemoration or the static remembrance of the past. In this context, it signifies a radical expression of living collectivity generating networks of care and social change for a more equitable world. Solidarity is not a theoretical concept to dwell upon, but something we must enact together, a collective response to the multiple crises related to migration, conflict, colonialism, racialization, class divisions, heteronormativity, and environmental urgencies.
Convened in this spirit, we are thrilled to be joined by an exciting list of presenters:
LaToya Ruby Frazier, artist-activist
Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art
Candice Hopkins, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Forge Project
Margaret Innes, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Music Histories, Syracuse University
Ashley James, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
DonChristian Jones, artist, musician, and director
Naeem Mohaiemen, artist and Associate Professor of Visual Arts, Columbia University
Hank Willis Thomas, artist
Seating is limited and RSVP is required.
Cofounded by curators Roxana Marcoci and Eva Respini on February 16, 2010, and conceived as an experimental platform for free-form critical discussions, MoMA’s forums on contemporary photography are designed to encourage debate about the perspectives and scope of still and moving images and other forms of picture-making among leading artists, curators, and theorists in the field. The creative process of today is not solitary but dynamic, evolving from countless partnerships. These forums offer an intellectual milieu that values the scholarly reassessment of pivotal ideas in art, innovative practices, and complex and competing visions of modern and contemporary art.
Roxana Marcoci, The David Dechman Senior Curator and Acting Chief Curator of Photography, The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography, MoMA, begins each session with an introduction to the topic, providing context for the conversation. Four to seven featured speakers then present for five to 10 minutes each. The presentations are followed by a probing, critical Q&A session and a moderated discussion with all the guests.
Read an article about the Forums from Art in America.
This Forum on Contemporary Photography is organized by Roxana Marcoci, The David Dechman Senior Curator and Acting Chief Curator of Photography, Caitlin Ryan, Assistant Curator, and Antoinette Roberts, former Curatorial Assistant, The Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography, MoMA.
The Forums on Contemporary Photography are made possible through the generous support of the Joseph M. Cohen Family Collection, Thomas and Susan Dunn, and the Peter C. Bunnell Fund.