Ivan B. McClellan presents EIGHT SECONDS: BLACK RODEO CULTURE

Registration for this event is not required; however, in the case of a full event, your registration will reserve your seat.

Join us in Remington to welcome Ivan B. McClellan, photographer and curator behind 8 Seconds Rodeo, to Baltimore!

Ivan will discuss his photobook Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture alongside Teri Henderson, Arts and Culture Editor of Baltimore Beat.

This event is presented in collaboration with Batlimore Beat!

ABOUT EIGHT SECONDS: BLACK RODEO CULTURE

Glorious tributes to contemporary Black rodeo culture across America

In 2015, photographer Ivan McClellan attended the Roy LeBlanc Invitational in Oklahoma, the country’s longest-running Black rodeo, at the invitation of Charles Perry, director and producer ofThe Black Cowboy. “It was like going to Oz—there was all this color and energy,” McClellan says. “There was a backyard barbecue atmosphere … It felt like home.” Over the next decade, he embarked on journeys across America, crafting a multilayered look at contemporary Black rodeo culture. Whether photographing teen cowgirl sensation Kortnee Solomon at her family’s Texas stables, capturing bull riding champion Ouncie Mitchell in action or hanging out with the Compton Cowboys at their Los Angeles ranch, McClellan chronicles the extraordinary athletes who keep the magic and majesty of the “Old West” alive with high-octane displays of courage, strength and skill.

The book’s title refers to the sport of bull riding. Athletes must stay on a bull for a total of eight seconds while it bucks; the more hectic the ride, the higher they score. It’s an apt metaphor for McClellan’s devotion to this long-form documentary project, which required him to hone his reflexes, endurance and stamina to get the perfect picture. WithEight Seconds, McClellan honors the highest ideals of independence, integrity and grit with intimate photographs that preserve the deep-rooted connections between people and land.

Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture will be available for purchase at the event!

Ivan McClellan (b. 1982, Kansas City, KS) is a photojournalist and designer based in Portland, Oregon. His work reveals marginalized aspects of black culture and challenges broad assumptions and myths about racial identity in America.

Teri Henderson is the Arts and Culture Editor of Baltimore Beat. She is the author of the 2021 book Black Collagists. Previously, she was a staff writer for BmoreArt, gallery coordinator for Connect + Collect, and served on the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts board. Henderson was a 2020 Momus Emerging Critics Resident, a 2023-2024 Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellow, and a 2024 Maynard 200 Fellow. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Art+Feminism.

Baltimore Beat is a Black-led, Black-controlled nonprofit newspaper and media outlet. Our mission is to honor the tradition of the Black press and the spirit of alt-weekly journalism with reporting that focuses on community, questions power structures, and prioritizes thoughtful engagement with our readers.

Baltimore Beat aims to serve all of Baltimore City, including those with limited internet access and those who are a part of underrepresented communities.

Baltimore Beat aspires toward a more equitable, accountable, and rigorous future for journalism that fully represents the stories of all our neighbors.

Host or Publisher Greedy Reads