Welcome to This Week in Culture, a weekly agenda of show openings and events in major cities across the globe. From galleries to institutions and one-of-a-kind happenings, our ongoing survey highlights the best of contemporary culture, for those willing to make the journey.
“Inheritance”
Whitney Museum of American Art New York
Inspired by Ephraim Asili’s film, The Inheritance, 2020, the Whitney Museum of American Art has called upon artists like Sadie Barnette and Asili himself to explore family history. The film tells the story of a man who transforms his grandmother’s house into a Black socialist collective. The exhibition asks its artists to examine the meaning of lineage and blends documentary work with the participants artistic interpretations. “Inheritance” will be on view for members from June 22 to June 26, 2023, and will open to the public from June 28, 2023 to February 2024 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Juneteenth Open House
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
To celebrate Juneteenth, admission to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will be free of charge for all Massachusetts residents this Monday. In addition to the free admission, the museum will be hosting a day of activities, many of which are inspired by an exhibition currently on view, “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina,” which details the ceramics of enslaved potters who made stoneware half a century before emancipation. From highlighting organizations like Lit for Black Kids and Abilities Dance to a performance by the poet Golden, the Open House will be full of opportunities to celebrate the holiday. The Juneteenth Open House will take place on Monday, June 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Juneteenth Jubilee
Brooklyn Museum New York
Music, art-making, performances, and celebration are central to the Brooklyn Museum’s Juneteenth Jubilee. The event will take place Monday afternoon, beginning with a choreographed piece by Renegade Performance Group inspired by the writings of Dr. Nadine George-Graves. Visitors can tour one of the museum’s current exhibitions, “A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration,” which looks at the history of the Great Migration through the lens of contemporary artists, with its curator, Kimberli Gant. The Juneteenth Jubilee will take place on Monday, June 19, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
“the sun eats her children” by Precious Okoyomon
Sant’Andrea de Scaphis Rome
Precious Okoyomon’s work has been recognized for the artist’s ability to synthesize history, nature, community, and poetry in aesthetic form. The artist and chef is best known for their large-scale installations of plants, many of which track the racialized and horrifying history of agriculture, like the use of the invasive kudzu plant in the United States. The artist's new show is organized in conjunction with Gladstone Gallery. “the sun eats her children” will be on view from June 19 to September 1, 2023 at Sant’Andrea de Scaphis in Rome.
“A Past That Is Future Tense” by Kiyan Williams
Peres Projects Milan
In “A Past That Is Future Tense,” Kiyan Williams explores the implications of objects tied to power. Looking at gender roles, flags, busts, columns, and colonial histories, the artist makes audiences question the impact of the items that surround them, and how these objects possess an inherent non-neutrality. Particularly, Williams investigates the American empire, with U.S. flags distorted and destroyed alongside recreations of U.S. Capitol statues. “A Past That Is Future Tense” is on view through July 14, 2023 at Peres Projects in Milan.
“Reflections for Now” by Carrie Mae Weems
Barbican Centre London
Carrie Mae Weems has led the charge of artists interrogating the impact of diverse representation in media. The artist’s oeuvre, which tackles the ways that Black people, and more specifically Black women, have been portrayed, will be on display at the Barbican Centre, including her iconic "Kitchen Table" series from 1990, and more recent works like the artist’s 2021 film, The Shape of Things. “Reflections for Now” will be on view from June 22 to September 3, 2023 at the Barbican Centre in London.
“Doyle Lane: Weed Pots”
David Kordansky Gallery New York
David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles highlighted the ceramic constructions of Doyle Lane in a 2020 exhibition of the same name. In the three years since that exhibition, collectors and scholars alike have been able to uncover more works of Lane’s, and thus “Doyle Lane: Weed Pots” will be shown again with over 100 of his pots on display. Lane was a central figure in the Los Angeles art scene, and his "Weed Pots" are beloved for their unique round shape and bright colors. “Doyle Lane: Weed Pots” will be on view from June 23 to August 4, 2023 at David Kordansky Gallery in New York.
“Sanibonani”
Jonathan Carver Moore San Francisco
In collaboration with students of the Muholi Art Institute, Jonathan Carver Moore, a gallery that opened this March with a deliberate focus on marginalized artists, will be showing “Sanibonani.” This is the debut exhibition in the United States for the Muholi Art Institute, which was started by artist Zanele Muholi to provide support for artists in South Africa. The photography exhibition focuses on queer identity and pride amongst the members of the Institute. “Sanibonani” opened on June 16, or Youth Day in South Africa, the commemorative day of the Soweto uprising which responded to the use of Afrikaans in school classrooms, and will be on view through July 5, 2023 at Jonathan Carver Moore in San Francisco.
