University Galleries to Host Photographic Artist Kennedi Carter to Discuss Art and Media

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 18, 2021) – The University Galleries at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host a virtual program, “Art and Media: A Conversation with Kennedi Carter,” Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.

The inaugural “1900 Lecture” discussion will feature Carter, a renowned photographer and artist who will delve into the intersection of art, fashion and media. Noted actress and author Angela Ray will moderate the discussion.

Carter is a contemporary African American photographic artist known for her work that addresses race, gender and class. She is internationally known as the first person of color and the youngest person ever to photograph the cover for British Vogue magazine. For the December 2020 British Vogue cover, Carter photographed Grammy award-winning songstress Beyoncé.

A Durham, North Carolina native, Carter is a photographer with a primary focus on Black subjects. Her work highlights the aesthetics and sociopolitical aspects of Black life as well as the overlooked characteristics of the Black experience: skin, texture, trauma, peace, love and community. Her work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and TIME.

The “1900 Lecture” commemorates the year A&T joined the Negro Exhibition curated by W.E.B. DuBois at the Paris Exposition in France. The Paris Exposition of 1900 (Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1900) showed the achievements of the Negro on a global scale. The United States section of the building featured an exhibit devoted to the history and “present conditions” of African Americans. Du Bois and special agent Thomas J. Calloway spearheaded the planning, collection and installation of the exhibit materials, which included 500 photographs as well as charts, maps, and a display of 200 books written by African Americans. North Carolina A&T was represented in eight photographs that depicted campus and classroom life.

“In this exhibit there are, of course, the usual paraphernalia for catching the eye — photographs, models, industrial work, and pictures. But it does not stop here; beneath all this is a carefully thought-out plan, according to which the exhibitors have tried to show: (a) The history of the American Negro. (b) His present condition. (c) His education. (d) His literature.”

— W. E. B. Du Bois, “The American Negro at Paris” American Monthly Review of Reviews 22:5 (November 1900): 576.

Attendees should register in advance for the virtual program here, and will receive an email confirmation with information to join.

The virtual program will complement the University Galleries’ current in-person exhibition, “Made Especially For You.” This exhibit features the work of African American fashion designer and dressmaker Willie Otey Kay in partnership with the North Carolina Museum of History and is open until the first week of December. 

On Thursday, Oct. 21, at noon, Carter will conduct a master class designed for students who are interested in navigating careers in the world of art, photography and media at the University Galleries. Space is limited and registration is free and required. To register, email University Galleries Director Paul Baker, Ph.D., at pkbaker@ncat.edu.

The University Galleries at A&T are part of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and play an integral role in supporting its mission of providing cultural exposure to the art of the African Diaspora. As part of the university and surrounding communities, the University Galleries are committed to increasing cultural competency and intellectual dialogue about the art and culture of people from the African diaspora through the exhibition of art, artifacts, and material culture.

The University Galleries are located in the Dudley Building, 202 University Circle, off East Market Street on the North Carolina A&T campus. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and Saturday by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.