In the first session of our series Closer Readings: The Photobooks of Dennis Morris, Dr Aleema Gray (HOUSE OF DREAD), leads a group discussion as we look at the autobiographical and documentary aspects of the photobook. With a particular focus on the domestic, the event will examine photography’s role in capturing intimate moments in Black life and as a tool for self-representation. How does this series contribute to perceptions of Black identity?
The format includes a combination of presentations, open conversation and focused discussions on several of Morris’ iconic photographs. This session is part of a series of events dedicated to an in-depth exploration of Dennis Morris’s photobooks: Growing Up Black, Southall - A Home from Home and This Happy Breed, as well as Music + Life. Each session offers contextual information and critical analysis of Morris’ photographic storytelling, touching on themes such as race, migration, identity and British cultural history.
With support from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
Biography
Dr Aleema Gray is an award-winning Jamaican-born curator, researcher and public historian based in London. She was awarded the Yesu Persaud Scholarship for her PhD entitled "Bun Babylon; A Community-engaged History of Rastafari in Britain". Aleema’s practice is driven by a concern for more historically contingent ways of understanding the present, especially in relation to notions of belonging, memory, and contested heritage in the African and Caribbean diaspora. She was the Lead Curator for Beyond the Bassline: 500 years of Black British Music at the British Library and the founder of HOUSE OF DREAD, an anti-disciplinary heritage studio dedicated to preserving and activating African and Caribbean lived experiences across the diaspora.
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