Detroit Institute of Arts Launches Exhibit Featuring 15 Black Photographers’ Visual Activism Work, Dec. 17 

On Dec. 17, 2021, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will open its new exhibition titled “The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion”. The traveling exhibit will spotlight 15 emerging contemporary Black photographers and over 100 of their color portraits, conceptual images, and fashion editorials, many of which have been found in traditional lifestyle magazines, ad campaigns, and museums. 

The photographers whose work will be featured are part of the global movement of emerging Black youth artists called “The New Black Vanguard.” Their work “opens up conversations around the roles of the Black body and Black Lives as subject matter,” according to the DIA’s website. Their photos will also serve as a form of visual activism, featuring images in different contexts worldwide, including in New York, Johannesburg, Lagos, and London.

Curated by New York writer and critic Antwuan Sargent, the exhibit intends to “blur traditional lines between art and fashion and where each is displayed.”

 The exhibition will be available to visit until April 17, 2022. Admission is free for residents of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. Individuals who do not live in those counties can view the exhibit at general admission cost, which is $14 for adults, $6 for youth 6-17 years old, and free for children who are 5 years old and younger.  

Learn more about the exhibition here.