exhibitions

I Am Seen…Therefore, I Am

MAY 18–SEPT 24, 2023

I Am Seen… Therefore, I Am: Isaac Julien and Frederick Douglass at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Co-curated by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Vision & Justice Founder Sarah Elizabeth Lewis

The exhibition reflects upon Frederick Douglass’ profound impact on the cause of freedom for all and the importance of photography in the history of our nation. The exhibition brings together rare 19th-century daguerreotypes—on public view for the first time—with an immersive film work by contemporary artist Isaac Julien that meditates on Douglass’ life and times.

Walk through the exhibition online at I Am Seen…Therefore, I Am

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.

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  

This installation examined the contested relationship between art, justice, and African American culture from the 19th through 21st century in the United States. Over 40 works were displayed, including prints by Kara Walker and Glenn Ligon that challenge the nexus between vision and justice during slavery and photographs by Bruce Davidson and Gordon Parks that synoptically summarize events from the segregation era through the civil rights movement. 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.