Grandassa Models Present: In Our Heads

In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Kwame Brathwaite used his photography to popularize the political slogan “Black Is Beautiful.” The Aperture monograph Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite—the first ever dedicated to Brathwaite’s remarkable career—tells the story of a key, but under-recognized, figure of the second Harlem Renaissance.

Through January 16, 2023, the New-York Historical Society is the exclusive New York City venue for the accompanying exhibition of the same name, which features forty large-scale color and black-and-white photographs from the artist’s remarkable career.

The Grandassa Models were a key part of the “Black Is Beautiful” movement. Join the New York Historical Society as the Grandassa Models present an engaging discussion about hair, featuring clips from the film In Our Heads About Our Hair. Moderated by founder and owner of Khamit Kinks Anu Prestonia, the panel will also include TV news anchor Melba Tolliver, filmmaker Hemamset Angaza, and Grandassa model Nana Baakan O Yirenkyiwa. 

Registration is required.

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Image: Kwame Brathwaite, Sikolo Brathwaite wearing a headpiece designed by Carolee Prince, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), Harlem, ca. 1968; from Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture, 2019)