Detail of Keep it in the family at VAE in 2016. Photo by Beth Mann.
André Leon Gray. Photo by Beth Mann.
On Sunday, November 29 at 2 p.m., Raleigh-based artist André Leon Gray and Black On Black founder Michael S. Williams will discuss two of Gray’s works, Keep it in the family and Say it Louder for the People Sleeping in the Back. The works, previously featured in the inaugural and third Black On Black exhibitions, respectively, highlight the effects gentrification can have on communities, unintended or not. These works will be on view as Gray and Williams talk about how Raleigh’s neighborhoods have continued to change since the works were exhibited nearly a decade ago. The event is part of a series of convenings called No Study; No Celebration that looks at Black On Black Project's three titular exhibitions in the context of North Carolina's history. RSVP.
The erasure of Black neighborhoods has been a point of contention for more than a century, evidenced by early housing ordinances, restrictive covenants, discrimination cases, and code enforcement programs. Gray has long explored this reality through the lens of his Southeast Raleigh neighborhood and will share stories of what he’s witnessed.
The event will take place at Anchorlight in Raleigh, NC, and reflects on a decade of the Project’s work to nourish our cultural past, deepen our study, our understanding, and our connection.
Say it Louder for the People Sleeping in the Back on view in Fayetteville in 2019.