Event Type: Ongoing Exhibition

Exhibiting more than 80 self-portraits, CVA presents the artwork of celebrated visual activist Zanele Muholi (South African, b. 1972) who uses their body as a canvas to confront the deeply personal politics of race and representation in the visual archive. Their ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama, which translates to ‘Hail The Dark Lioness’ from isiZulu, one of the official languages of South Africa, playfully employs the conventions of classical painting, fashion photography, and the familiar tropes of ethnographic imagery to rearticulate contemporary identity politics. Each black and white self-portrait asks critical questions about social (in)justice, human rights, and contested representations of the Black body. This exhibition was organized by Autograph ABP and curated by Renée Mussai.

Exhibiting more than 80 self-portraits, CVA presents the artwork of celebrated visual activist Zanele Muholi (South African, b. 1972) who uses their body as a canvas to confront the deeply personal politics of race and representation in the visual archive. Their ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama, which translates to ‘Hail The Dark Lioness’ from isiZulu, one of the official languages of South Africa, playfully employs the conventions of classical painting, fashion photography, and the familiar tropes of ethnographic imagery to rearticulate contemporary identity politics. Each black and white self-portrait asks critical questions about social (in)justice, human rights, and contested representations of the Black body. This exhibition was organized by Autograph ABP and curated by Renée Mussai.

Exhibiting more than 80 self-portraits, CVA presents the artwork of celebrated visual activist Zanele Muholi (South African, b. 1972) who uses their body as a canvas to confront the deeply personal politics of race and representation in the visual archive. Their ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama, which translates to ‘Hail The Dark Lioness’ from isiZulu, one of the official languages of South Africa, playfully employs the conventions of classical painting, fashion photography, and the familiar tropes of ethnographic imagery to rearticulate contemporary identity politics. Each black and white self-portrait asks critical questions about social (in)justice, human rights, and contested representations of the Black body. This exhibition was organized by Autograph ABP and curated by Renée Mussai.

THURSDAY, MAR 18, 2021

6 PM – 6:45 PM MST

CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM (ONLINE)

In 1936, Clyfford Still co-founded an artists’ colony in Nespelem, the Indian Agency on the Colville Reservation in Washington state. During his time there, Still sketched and photographed the Native Americans whose livelihoods had been negatively impacted by the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam by the United States government. Join this virtual program, presented in partnership with the Month of Photography Denver Festival, featuring Clyfford Still Museum archivist Rachel Hancock and Washington State University professor Michael Holloman (member, Colville Confederated Tribes). Their conversation will shed light on the creation and context of these photographs.

Presenters:
Rachel Hancock, Associate Archivist, Clyfford Still Museum
Michael Holloman, Associate Professor: Drawing Coordinator and Art History, Washington State University

This event will include real-time captioning in English using Otter, an automated text transcription application.

Learn More & Register

• Image credit: Clyfford Still, PD-89, 1936 (detail). Graphite on paper, 9 x 12 in. Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
  Portrait of a woman in traditional Native American dress, circa 1925 July 9. Photo by Clyfford Still. Courtesy the Clyfford Still Archives.
  Clyfford Still, PD-95, 1936 (detail). Graphite on paper, 9 x 12 in. Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
  © City and County of Denver / ARS, NY