What Do Pictures Want: The Photographs of Sheila Pree Bright

Oct 23, 2019
  • Capacity: 160
  • 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
  • Location:
    VSO School of Music, Pyatt Hall
    843 Seymour St.
    Vancouver, BC

This event is free but registration is required.

The award-winning American photographer and activist Sheila Pree Bright is forging new visual narratives about African American communities and individuals. In the words of Naima J. Keith, “At a moment when social justice, inequality, and representation are national concerns at the highest levels of politics and media, Bright’s photography provides a potent mediation on the ongoing work toward racial progress in America.”

     
© Sheila Pree Bright

Born in Georgia and based in Atlanta, Bright’s work displays a visceral intimacy with the social landscape of the South. She explores the rise of a new generation of activists, examines diversity and its potency in changing political processes, reveals truthful yet uncommonly depicted domestic scenes of middle-class African American suburban life, critiques Western ideals of beauty, and probes notions of manhood and lifestyle within Hip Hop culture.

In the artists’ own words, “The visual content I capture challenges ideas about narratives that are controlled by Western thought and power structures. My approach is to seek the common thread that connects the human condition. I aim to examine what people define for themselves.” 

In this rare public talk, Sheila Pree Bright will reflect on her artistic practice, her recent work that connects activists from the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements, and the evolving role of visuality in contemporary society.

This event will include a visual presentation followed by an on-stage conversation. 

 

Speakers: 

Sheila Pree Bright an Atlanta based photographer who explores the social landscape of the American South. 

Tara Mayer UBC History, Peter Wall Scholar 

Dominic Lopes UBC Philosophy

 

This event is co-hosted by UBC’s History Department