Black Modernisms
Schedule
Thu Jun 04 2026 at 03:00 pm to 05:00 pm
UTC+02:00Location
Sølvgade 48-50, 1307 Copenhagen, Denmark | Copenhagen , SK
Mobility, Transculturality, and Art in the early 20th CenturyBemærk: arrangementet er på engelsk.
Join us for an afternoon at the SMK focusing on Modernisms and the Black diaspora.
Lecture: Confessions for Myself: Black Art and Transnational Mobility in Modernism by Richard J. Powell
Art historian Linda Nochlin stated that what angered and disappointed her most about the notion of a cultural diaspora among modern artists and their self-imposed conditions of exile was that, as a Jewish woman, she had been “exiled from Jewish exile by the mere fact of [her] sex; it is men,” she continued “who lay claim to the diasporist tradition of modernity.” One certainly sees the domination of white male artists in the accounts of self-exile, despite a long, underexamined history of not only women artists in exile, but Black artists, regardless of gender, who also found homes abroad – often in Europe – where they created new professional centers of operation with fewer societal impositions. By looking at the careers of artists of African descent and their participation via long-distance migration in the modern art enterprise, this lecture considers how social and cultural shifts have catapulted Black artists across the Atlantic and set the stage for alternative art histories.
Panel: AfroScandinavian Experience and Transnational Modernisms
A panel discussion on AfroScandinavian lived experience and transnational modernisms. Bringing together scholars and curators Elizabeth Löwe Hunter, Monica Miller, Marcia Harvey Isaksson, and Ethelene Whitmire, this conversation will explore histories of Black life and artistic production in Scandinavia in the early 20th century. The panel will address questions of archiving, historiography, and curatorial practice, and consider how attending to local and transnational perspectives on the African diaspora can reshape prior understandings of 20th-century Scandinavian art histories. Moderated by Nina Cramer.
Richard J. Powell is John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art & Art History at Duke University. He has written extensively on topics ranging from primitivism to postmodernism, including such titles as Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson (1991), Black Art: A Cultural History (1997 & 2002), and Cutting a Figure: Fashioning Black Portraiture (2008).
Elizabeth Löwe Hunter (DK/US) is an independent researcher, writer, and cultural analyst. She examines racialization, belonging, national memory, and representation in Denmark. Hunter holds a PhD in Black Studies and Gender Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Monica Miller (US) is Chair and Professor of Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. A leading voice in Black fashion and dress studies, Monica also teaches and writes about Black literature, art, performance, and contemporary Black European culture.
Marcia Harvey Isaksson (ZIM/SE) is an artist whose main line of inquiry is our common cultural heritage, using textile techniques as a vehicle to navigate her investigations. She is the founder of SouthNord, a platform that makes space for Black and Afro-Nordic artists.
Ethelene Whitmire (US) is a writer and professor, and the former chair of the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is the author of The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (2026) and Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian (2014).
“Black Modernisms” is organized by curator and art historian Anna Vestergaard Jørgensen in collaboration with art historian Nina Cramer. The event is funded by the Novo Nordic Foundation.
Top image: Ernest Mancoba, Uden titel, 1990-1992 © Ernest Mancoba / VISDA
Praktisk information
Dato og tidspunkt
4. juni kl. 15.00-17.00
Sted
Auditoriet på SMK i København. Det vil også være muligt at streame eventet live hjemmefra. Du modtager et link til streaming, når du tilmelder dig.
Pris
Gratis med entrébillet eller SMK Årskort. Tilmelding er nødvendig.
Where is it happening?
Sølvgade 48-50, 1307 Copenhagen, Denmark, Sølvgade 48, 1307 København K, Danmark, Copenhagen , Denmark
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