Scholar Lectures
The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement discussion series examines how images have shaped America’s collective memory and inspired individuals to participate in civic life. Photography is a powerful communication tool, and photos and image distribution platforms have evolved to become accessible tools for everyday people to share and influence ideas about the nation’s past, present, and future.
Join us online and in person on November 19, 2023, with Dr. Makeda Best and Dr. Leigh Raiford as they trace the trajectory of the photographic medium and examine its social and political impact.
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10:30am-1:30pm MT
Your Spot Now
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 | 10:30AM-1:30PM MT
MAKEDA BEST, PH.D.
RICHARD L. MENSCHEL CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY; INTERIM HEAD, DIVISION OF MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART, HARVARD ART MUSEUMS
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 | 10:30AM-1:30PM MT
Photography, Ecology, Democracy
This talk considers the intertwined dialogues between and the impact of Civil Rights photography on American environmental photography of the late twentieth century.
Makeda Best is currently the Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography and Interim Division Head of the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Harvard Art Museums. In August 2023, she will join The Oakland Museum of California as the Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs. Beyond photography, Best conceived of the Museums’ curatorial ReFrame initiative, which aims to critically examine the museum and its collections.
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 | 10:30AM-1:30PM MT
LEIGH RAIFORD, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 | 10:30AM-1:30PM MT
“Deep Into What I'm Seeing": Photography and the Making and Unmaking of Black Citizenship
A look at how photographs in a variety of forms and genres—including surveillance images, documentary photography, personal images, and public art—influences ideas of Black citizenship.
Leigh Raiford is a Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, where she teaches, researches, writes, and curates about race, gender, justice, and visuality. She is the inaugural director of the Black Studies Collaboratory, a three-year project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Moderator
HOLLY STUART HUGHES
INDEPENDENT EDITOR, WRITER & GRANT CONSULTANT
Moderator
Holly Stuart Hughes is an independent editor, writer, and grant consultant. The former editor-in-chief of PDN (Photo District News), she has organized panels and lectured on artists’ rights and the business of photography around the U.S., and served as a portfolio reviewer at several photo festivals.
A graduate of Yale, she has written on photography and media for Time.com, The Telegraph, Multichannel News, Taschen Books, American Photographic Artists, Magnum Photos, Carlton Publishing, and Blouin ArtInfo Media.
Register to Attend
JOIN US IN PERSON & ONLINE:
• November 19, 2023, from 10:30AM – 1:30PM MT
Livestream and In Person at the NM History Museum, Santa Fe, NM – register now
— Photography, Ecology, Democracy with Dr. Makeda Best, Curator of Photography, Harvard Art Museums
— “Deep Into What I’m Seeing”: Photography and the Making and Unmaking of Black Citizenship with Dr. Leigh Raiford, Professor of African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Watch the Lectures
AVAILABLE RECORDINGS:
• April 18, 2023 –
— What Can’t Be Unseen: Photography and Activism with Dr. Kymberly Pinder, Dean, Yale School of Art, Yale University
• November 20, 2022 –
— Photography & Restitution: The Civil Potential of the Image with Laura Wexler, Professor of American, Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, Yale University
— WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Empathy as A Perspective with Anne Wilkes Tucker, Curator Emerita of Photography, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston