“Black subjects are depicted by Black photographers; their gaze is mutual and consensual"

As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic celebrates work from the Wedge Collection, Canada’s largest privately owned contemporary art collection exploring African culture and Black life, established by Dr Kenneth Montague in 1997.

Taking us from Harlem, New York, in the 1930s to contemporary Toronto, Canada, this compelling exhibition of photographs is currently on at the Saatchi Gallery in London, England.

Explored through the concepts of community, identity and power, viewers are invited to recognize the complexity, strength, beauty and vulnerability of and diversity of Black life.

Works from established artists such as Horace Ové, James Barnor and Carrie Mae Weems will be on display, as well as those from emerging talents such as Texas Isaiah and Arielle Bobb-Willis.

Dr Montague is a Toronto-based dentist, art collector and founder of the Wedge Collection, which comprises over 400 original works from artists from Canada, the US and throughout the Diaspora.

It has grown over the decades, but work was originally displayed “wedged” into the narrow corridors of Dr Montague’s house.

He said: “I’m honored to be sharing photographic works from my collection with a UK audience.

As We Rise at the Saatchi Gallery will be a celebration of global Black culture through time, with images that reflect legacies of community, identity and power.”

The title As We Rise is inspired by a phrase that Dr Montague’s father would often use – “lifting as we rise” – inspiring a sense of emphasis not just on the individual, but also on the whole population, of empowering your community but also striving for personal success.

As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic embraces this sensibility and is the reason why the many works featured in the exhibition are gathered into the thematic sections of Community, Identity and Power. In their depiction of an expansive sense of the familial and the familiar, they share a common thread.

“Black subjects are depicted by Black photographers; their gaze is mutual and consensual. But the imagery is far from uniform. Instead, it is as varied, surprising, and idiosyncratic as a family album.”

The exhibit is on now and will run until January 20 2025. Admission starts at £6 (approximately $8 / AU$12) per ticket.

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