Getty Gets in Dialogue with L.A.

From the outset of their careers, photographers Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems have operated from a deep social commitment to participate in, describe, and define culture.

As Bey and Weems have continued to push their work forward, their art and approach have inspired artists around the world.

When Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue arrived at the Getty Center this summer, Getty partnered with Black Image Center, Inner-City Arts, L.A. Commons, and Venice Arts to provide an opportunity for local photographers of all ages to engage with the legacy of these artists and the themes of race, power, and American history featured in the exhibition.

To help guide students through an exploration of the work and ethos of these photographers, each Getty partner hosted artist-led educational opportunities with unique curriculums.

At the Black Image Center, teaching artist Nesanet Teshager Abegaze developed her curriculum using texts and prompts from a wide variety of artists and educators including author Toni Cade Bambara, cultural critic Greg Tate, culinary anthropologist Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, composer Milford Graves, and film scholar Teshome Gabriel.

“The residents also learned to eco-process 35mm and 120 film with coffee, a meditation on rethinking toxic darkroom chemistry and the toxic history of the photography industry,” says Abegaze. “All of this was rooted in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which served as a storytelling technology and community building ritual.”

Although each teacher-artist's curriculum was unique, the goal of each class was the same: to encourage participants to meet in a classroom, collaborate with peers, and explore their local communities.

“I am grateful to Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey for their precision and insistence on rigor,” says Abegaze, “but most importantly for showing us what it means to make art while nurturing friendships and maintaining a radical commitment to community.”

“I know I gained a family who I look forward to growing with for years to come,” says Jamil G. Baldwin, one of the Black Image Center residents. “Family is not just something you’re born with, it’s something that’s built. And Nesanet facilitated a space for us where we were allowed to be vulnerable about ourselves and the work. And I know the foundation of our time together will hold many bricks as our story builds with time.”

The resulting exhibition, LA: In Dialogue, is on view at Band of Vices Gallery June 3 through June 17, 2023. Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue is on view at the Getty Center through July 9, 2023.