Photography from the Black Atlantic, Selections from the Wedge Collection
Jamel Shabazz (American, b. 1960). Best Friends, Brooklyn, New York, 1981. Chromogenic print, 14 x 11 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy Jamel Shabazz.
July 20 – October 13, 2024
Located on the third floor of The Baker Museum
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, Selections from the Wedge Collection presents an exciting range of photographs from African diasporic culture. With more than 100 works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, the United States and the continent of Africa, this exhibition provides a timely exploration of Black identity on all sides of the Atlantic. Drawn from the Wedge Collection in Toronto, which is dedicated to artists of African descent, the exhibition includes artists such as Stan Douglas, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Barkley L. Hendricks, Liz Johnson Artur, Seydou Keïta, Deana Lawson, Jamel Shabazz, Texas Isaiah, James Van Der Zee and Carrie Mae Weems, who touch on themes of agency, beauty, joy, belonging, subjectivity and self-representation from different Atlantic perspectives.
The Wedge Collection was started in 1997 by Dr. Kenneth Montague to acquire and exhibit art that explores Black identity. In addition to the Wedge Collection, Montague founded Wedge Curatorial Projects, a nonprofit arts organization that helps support emerging Black artists. A Toronto-based art collector, Montague has served on the African acquisitions committee at Tate Modern, London, and is an advisor to the Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada.
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Museum Admission
Selected Works
Zun Lee (Canadian-American, b. Germany 1969). Jebron Felder and his son Jae’shaun at home, Harlem, New York, September 2011. Selenium split-tone K7 on Hanhemüle Photo Rag, 20 x 30 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy Zun Lee, from the Father Figure Project.
Installation view of As We Rise. Courtesy Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. Photo: RoseBudz Productions.
Xaviera Simmons (American, b. 1974). Denver, 2008. Chromogenic print, 30 x 40 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy the artist and David Castillo.
Texas Isaiah (American). My Name Is My Name I, 2016. Giclée print on archival paper, 30 x 45 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. © Texas Isaiah.
Installation view of As We Rise. Courtesy Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. Photo: RoseBudz Productions.
Lebohang Kganye (South African, b. 1990). Re shapa setepe sa lenyalo II, 2013. Archival pigment print on cotton rag, 16 1/2 x 12 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. © Lebohang Kganye.
Samuel Fosso (Cameroonian, b. 1962). ‘70s Lifestyle, 1975–78. Gelatin silver print, 18 x 18 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. © Samuel Fosso, courtesy JM.PATRAS/PARIS.
Installation view of As We Rise. Courtesy Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. Photo: RoseBudz Productions.
Kennedi Carter (American, b. 1988). Untitled (Self-Portrait), 2020. Digital print on Hanhemüle Photo Rag, 40 x 30 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy Kennedi Carter.
James Barnor (Ghanaian-British, b. Ghana 1929). Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck, Kilburn, London, 1966/2011. Archival C-type print, 24 x 20 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy Autograph ABP.
Installation view of As We Rise. Courtesy Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. Photo: RoseBudz Productions.
Dawit L. Petros (Canadian, b. Eritrea 1972).Sign, 2003. Chromogenic print, 67 3/4 x 52 1/4 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy the artist/Bradley Ertaskiran.
Liz Johnson Artur (Ghanaian-Russian, b. Bulgaria 1964). Burgess Park, 2010. Gelatin silver print, 24 x 20 in. Dr. Kenneth Montague | The Wedge Collection, Toronto. Courtesy Black Balloon Archive, Liz Johnson Artur.
Associated Events
As We Rise is organized by Aperture, New York, and curated by Elliott Ramsey, curator, The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver. The presentation of this exhibition at Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum is curated by Courtney McNeil, museum director and chief curator.