Black Chronicals
Black Chronicles IV, curated by Ren茅e Mussai in association with VIAD
13 April - 31 May 2018
CURATOR’S NOTE: 鈥淭he aim of the Black Chronicles series is to open up critical inquiry into the archive to locate new knowledge, and support our ongoing mission to continuously expand and enrich photography鈥檚 cultural histories鈥︹
This 2018 exhibition (Curated by Ren茅e Mussai and hosted by VIAD) achieved this aim and many more, exhibiting an extraordinary collection of photographic studio portraits showcasing a diverse range of 鈥榖lack presences鈥 鈥 African, Caribbean, and South Asian 鈥 through the prism of nineteenth-century studio photography in Victorian Britain. The exhibition foregrounded the narratives of both ordinary and prominent black figures 鈥 performers, dignitaries, politicians, servicemen, and women, missionaries, students, businessmen as well as international royalty. W.E.B. Du Bois鈥 The Paris Albums 1900 and the sound and image-based installation, The African Choir 1891 Re-imagined, were also featured as part of this thought-provoking exhibition.
Enabling different ways of 鈥榮eeing鈥 individuals often marginalized within Victorian Britain, colonial Southern Africa, and the American South, Black Chronicles IV contributes toward an ongoing process of redressing the persistent absences of black narratives within the historical record.

























