When We See Us

Artists

Michael Armitage, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Joy Labinjo, Ben Enwonwu, Romare Bearden, Danielle Mckinney, Sungi Mlengeya, Mmapula Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Chéri Samba, Amy Sherald, Cyprien Tokoudagba, Zandile Tshabalala, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Press release

A Century of Black Figuration in Painting

Curators: Tandazani Dhlakama, Koyo Kouoh

In what ways have artists from the African continent and its far-flung diaspora processed the experience of the quotidian in their painting over the last 100 years? Koyo Kouoh, Director and Chief Curator of the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa, and her team undertook extensive research to find out. The result is a comprehensive show that brings together works by 120 artists: a kaleidoscope of Black figurative painting over the last 100 years. Also scheduled to be on show at the Kunstmuseum Basel, Zeitz MOCAA has created a groundbreaking exhibition that demands to be seen.

The exhibition’s title is inspired by the 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us by African-American director Ava DuVernay, which focuses on how Black youth are seen as potential criminals and thus as a threat. Replacing “they” with “we” in the title indicates the crucial perspectival shift: The works on show bring into focus the artists’ lived realities as subject of their own art. Amounting to over 150 pieces, the artworks are grouped into six distinct thematic categories entitled “The Everyday,” “Joy & Revelry,” ”Repose,” “Sensuality,” “Spirituality,” and “Triumph and Emancipation.”