黑料不打烊

Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • 鈥機use Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • 黑料不打烊 Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • 黑料不打烊 Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • 鈥機use Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Carrie Mae Weems First Major Solo UK Exhibition Opens in London

Wednesday, July 5, 2023, By News Staff
Share
Artist in Residencearts and humanitiesexhibitionOffice of Strategic Initiatives

鈥淩eflections of Now,鈥� a major exhibition of work by internationally renowned artist聽聽H鈥�17, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 first-ever artist in residence, opened June 22 at the in London. Weems鈥� first major solo U.K. exhibition will run through Sept. 3.

Carrie Mae Weems, center, an opening of London show.

Carrie Mae Weems, center, at the opening of her show at the Barbican Art Gallery in London (Photo courtesy of the Goodman Gallery)

Widely considered to be one of the most influential American artists working today, Weems is celebrated for her exploration of identity, power, desire and social justice through work that challenges representations of race, gender and class. Through her intimate and thought-provoking images, Weems challenges societal norms, reclaims narratives and encourages views to critically examine their own assumptions and biases.

This presentation of Weems鈥� multidisciplinary work captures the performative and cinematic nature of her practice through photographs, films and installations, from the iconic 鈥淜itchen Table Series鈥� (1990) to 鈥淔rom Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried鈥� (1995-96), focused on systemic racism, to the incisive film installation 鈥淭he Shape of Things鈥� (2021), calling out the 鈥減ageantry鈥� of contemporary American politics.

The Evening Standard calls the exhibition 鈥渂reathtaking鈥� and 鈥渁 transcendent show from an artist who has delivered for 30 years.鈥�

鈥淢y responsibility as an artist is to work, to sing for my supper, to make art, beautiful and powerful, that adds and reveals, to beautify the mess of a messy world,鈥� Weems told Dazed. The exhibition鈥檚 co-curator, Ra煤l Mu帽oz de la Vega, added, 鈥淏eauty and elegance is a key formal aspect of saying her work. In order to lure you to enter a very difficult conversation, she does it with the trick of beauty.鈥�

The exhibition is accompanied by 鈥淐arrie Mae Weems: Reflections for Now,鈥� the first publication devoted to her writings. It will highlight Weems鈥� influence as an intellectual, reflecting the dual nature of her career as an artist and an activist.

Carrie Mae Weems greeting guests at the Barbican Art Gallery in London.

Carrie Mae Weems, right, greeting guests at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. (Photo courtesy of the Goodman Gallery)

2023 has been a busy year for Weems. She was the guest of honor at the 12th Annual Brooklyn Artists Ball, presented by Dior, on April 25 at the Brooklyn Museum. She was honored for her 鈥渋nnumerable contributions as both a trailblazing artist and a community-focused activist.鈥� An exhibition featuring 鈥淭he Shape of Things鈥� opened at the Luma in Arles, France, in May.

Together, with the Barbican exhibition, 鈥淧erhaps we鈥檒l finally get the message on this side of the pond, too, that Carrie Mae Weems deserves our fullest attention,鈥� wrote Caroline Roux in the Financial Times.

On Aug. 15, a video presentation and talk with Weems on her work 鈥淟eave, Leave Now鈥� will be held at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts (Martha鈥檚 Vineyard). The event is presented by the University鈥檚 Office of Multicultural Advancement and the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard.

Earlier this year, Weems was named a 2023 Hasselblad Award laureate by the聽, a prize that is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of photography. An award ceremony will take place on Oct. 13 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

础听聽(a.k.a. 鈥淕enius Grant鈥�) recipient and the first African American woman to have a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum,聽Weems has used multiple mediums (photography, video, digital imagery, text, fabric and more) throughout her career to examine themes of cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, family relationships and the consequences of power.

Weems has created a complex body of work that centers on her overarching commitment to helping us better understand our present moment by examining our collective past. Determined as ever to enter the picture鈥攂oth literally and metaphorically鈥擶eems has sustained an ongoing dialogue within contemporary discourse for over 35 years.

As artist in residence at 黑料不打烊, Weems engages with faculty and students in a number of ways, including working with students in the design, planning and preparation of exhibitions. The artist in residence program is overseen by the .

Weems first came to 黑料不打烊 in 1988 to participate in Light Work鈥檚 artist-in-residence program. Over the years, she has participated in several programs at and has a long history of engaging with students and the University community.

She has received numerous awards, grants and fellowships, including the MacArthur Fellowship, U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Medal of Arts, Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome, National Endowment of the Arts fellowship and Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, among many others.

Weems is represented in public and private collections around the world, including the Brooklyn Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Whitney Museum of American Art; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Weems has been represented by Jack Shainman Gallery since 2008.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Snapshots From Route 66: One Student鈥檚 Journey to Newhouse LA
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Keith Kobland
  • 黑料不打烊 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Engaged Humanities Network Community Showcase Spotlights Collaborative Work
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • Students Engaged in Research and Assessment
    Tuesday, May 20, 2025, By News Staff
  • 黑料不打烊 Views Summer 2025
    Monday, May 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Spelman College Glee Club to Perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29

As the grand finale of the 2025 黑料不打烊 International Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29. The Spelman College Glee Club, now in its historic 100th year, is the…

Alumnus, Visiting Scholar Mosab Abu Toha G鈥�23 Wins Pulitzer Prize for New Yorker Essays

Mosab Abu Toha G鈥�23, a graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current visiting scholar at 黑料不打烊, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for a series of essays…

School of Architecture Faculty Pablo Sequero Named Winner of 2025 Architectural League Prize

School of Architecture faculty member Pablo Sequero鈥檚 firm, salazarsequeromedina, has been named to the newest cohort of winners in the biennial Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, one of North America鈥檚 most prestigious awards for young practitioners. 鈥淎n…

A&S Cool Class: Chinese Art

Exploring diverse artistic traditions is one way students in the College of Arts and Sciences develop global perspectives and enhance their cultural awareness, necessary for success in today鈥檚 connected world. Artworks from around the world, including those from China, offer…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

For the Media

Find an Expert
© 2025 黑料不打烊. All Rights Reserved.