exhibitions
I Am Seen…Therefore, I Am
MAY 18 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
I Am Seen… Therefore, I Am: Isaac Julien and Frederick Douglass at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Sir Isaac Julien’s immersive, multi-screen film installation Lessons of the Hour anchors this exploration of Frederick Douglass’s reflections on image-making, race, and citizenship. Co-curated by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, and presented in collaboration with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, the exhibition brings together rare nineteenth-century daguerreotypes—on public view for the first time—saluting the studio practices of the African American photographers of Douglass’s era, as well as the many compelling sitters who sought to have their images captured and remembered.
Juxtaposing these historic images with Julien’s contemporary work, the presentation represents a dialogue between local and international, between Douglass’s encounters with the citizenry of Hartford, Connecticut, and the continuing international reach of his unfinished movement for social justice. I Am Seen…Therefore, I Am: Isaac Julien and Frederick Douglass marks the 180th anniversary of Douglass’s first visit to Hartford in May 1843.
Walk through the exhibition online at I Am Seen…Therefore, I Am
Avedon 100 Catalogue
MAY 2023
Vision & Justice Founder Sarah Elizabeth Lewis has contributed an essay to Avedon 100
The illustrated catalogue accompanies the major exhibition at Gagosian this May, celebrating the centenary of Richard Avedon’s birth and honoring the artist’s enduring influence on photography. Published by Gagosian, the catalogue will be available at Gagosian.com and retailers across the U.S.
The Art of Citizenship
AUGUST 27, 2016 – JANUARY 8, 2017
Vision & Justice: The Art of Citizenship at the University Teaching Gallery at Harvard Art Museums
Over 40 works were displayed, including prints by Kara Walker and Glenn Ligon, and photographs by Bruce Davidson and Gordon Parks. The exhibition complemented a course taught by Lewis at Harvard University and served as conceptual companion to the Vision & Justice issue of Aperture magazine guest edited by Lewis that same year.
Read the digital publication produced by the students enrolled in Lewis’ course.
Read an interview with Lewis about the installation.
Image credits: (1) Courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (2) Benedict Fernandez, Memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., Central Park, New York, 1968, Gelatin silver print, 20.5 x 31 cm (8 1/16 x 12 3/16 in). Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Transfer from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Beinecke Fund.