Black is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite

In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Kwame Brathwaite used photography to popularize the political slogan “Black Is Beautiful.” This exhibition—the first ever dedicated to Brathwaite’s remarkable career—tells the story of a key figure of the second Harlem Renaissance.

Inspired by the writings of activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, Brathwaite and his older brother, Elombe Brath, founded the African Jazz Arts Society and Studios (AJASS) and the Grandassa Models, a modeling agency for Black women.

This exhibition returns us to the Naturally fashion shows of the 1960s walked by Grandassa models and produced by the African American artists, designers, musicians, hairdressers, writers, and jazz lovers of AJASS.

Images have power, and this is an important example of a creative collective formed in order to radically shift the dominant narrative at midcentury.

Exhibition organized by Aperture, New York and Kwame S. Brathwaite.

What better time than now to revel in the power of art to bring people together to change their world? And how better to honor that work than to present it through the lenses of multiple art forms, cultural partners, and perspectives? Join us for concerts, films, family fun, and even online museum-from-home activities to savor the unique moments that art can bring. Enjoy Black Is Beautiful when it opens on June 27.