On Power: Mark Sealy in Conversation with Vanley Burke, Dr. Kenneth Montague, and Richard Mark Rawlins

Join Aperture for the second event in an online series celebrating As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic. Drawn from Dr. Kenneth Montague’s Wedge Collection in Toronto—a Black-owned collection dedicated to artists of African descent—As We Rise looks at the multifaceted ideas of Black life through the lenses of community, identity, and power. From images of protests to photographs of Black beauty, the theme of power appears differently in the works of artists in the Wedge Collection. In this event, moderated by Mark Sealy, panelists will discuss how the concept of power plays a key role in their work and understanding of photography.

About As We Rise

As We Rise presents an exciting compilation of photographs from African diasporic culture. With over one hundred works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, the United States, South America, as well as throughout the African continent, this volume provides a timely exploration of Black identity on both sides of the Atlantic. Artists such as Stan Douglas, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Barkley L. Hendricks, Liz Johnson Artur, Seydou Keïta, Deana Lawson, Jamel Shabazz, Texas Isaiah, and Carrie Mae Weems touch on themes of agency, beauty, joy, belonging, subjectivity, and self-representation. Writings by Isolde Brielmaier, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Mark Sealy, Teka Selman, and Deborah Willis, among others, provide insight and commentary on this monumental collection.

Image: Vanley Burke, Boy with Flag, Winford, in Handsworth Park, 1970, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). © Vanley Burke