Photography and the Black Arts Movement

Barkley L. Hendricks, Self-Portrait with Red Sweater, 1980, printed 2023, chromogenic print, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

Photography and the Black Arts Movement officially closed this weekend at the National Gallery of Art, concluding an exhibition that positioned photography as both cultural language and political force. As the exhibition comes to an end, it leaves behind more than a visual archive. It offers a lasting framework for understanding how Black photographers shaped representation, authorship, and self definition during one of the most influential cultural movements of the twentieth century.

Rather than presenting the Black Arts Movement as a singular aesthetic, the exhibition revealed photography as a living practice shaped by urgency, community, and intentionality. Spanning the late 1960s through the 1970s, the photographs on view reflected a moment when Black artists reclaimed the camera as a means of control in response to widespread misrepresentation in mainstream media. These images were not created for distance or detachment. They were made to speak directly to Black communities. Alongside widely recognized figures such as Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava, the exhibition also highlighted artists whose contributions are equally vital but often less foregrounded in dominant art histories. Ming Smith, one of the first Black women photographers to be collected by MoMA, brought a dreamlike and experimental approach to documenting Black cultural life. Her work captured musicians, writers, and everyday moments with a softness that challenged rigid documentary conventions while remaining deeply rooted in Black interiority.

Street photographer Jamel Shabazz documented fashion, life and culture in his New York City community for over 40 years.

Ming Smith, Sun Ra Space II, New York, New York, 1978, gelatin silver print, Charina Endowment Fund

Gordon Parks, Ethel Sharrieff in Chicago, 1963, gelatin silver print, Corcoran Collection (The Gordon Parks Collection)

Anthony Barboza contributed portraits that documented artists and cultural workers at the heart of the movement. His images functioned as both record and recognition, preserving the faces of Black creatives who were actively shaping literature, theater, music, and visual culture during the era. Barboza’s work emphasized presence over spectacle, reinforcing the movement’s commitment to self representation.

Anthony Barboza, Grace Jones, New York City, 1970s, gelatin silver print, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

The exhibition also underscored photography’s role in community documentation. Rather than isolating singular icons, many of the works emphasized collectivity. Neighborhood life, creative gatherings, performances, and everyday rituals appeared throughout the galleries, reinforcing the Black Arts Movement’s belief that cultural power lives within community rather than individual celebrity.

Adger Cowans, Coltrane at the Gate, 1961, gelatin silver print, Charina Endowment Fund

Viewed in retrospect, the exhibition’s relevance feels especially sharp. In a contemporary moment defined by rapid image consumption, digital circulation, and algorithm driven visibility, Photography and the Black Arts Movement reminds us that representation is never neutral. The photographers featured understood that images shape historical memory and cultural authority. Their work demonstrates how intentional image making can function as both resistance and preservation.

Although the exhibition has now closed, its impact extends beyond the walls of the National Gallery of Art. It affirms photography as a tool for cultural continuity, visual sovereignty, and historical clarity.

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