The Darkroom MCs Premiere
Please join the Darkroom Masters of Culture for a celebratory premiere of their new ALL ARTS channel series “The Darkroom MCs”, which showcases some of the most important but often underrepresented photographers of our time.
Under the safe light of the darkroom, Russell Frederick and Anderson Zaca invite photographers and artists to discuss printmaking, their mission, life journey, culture, social justice, business, current events, and how images shape the world.
Mr. Frederick and Mr. Zaca will introduce the film series and screen two episodes featuring Beuford Smith and Joseph Rodriguez. A long-time Brooklyn resident Beuford Smith is an esteemed photographer, President emeritus of Kamoinge Inc, founder and senior editor of the Black Photographer Annual book series. Born in 1941, this self-taught street photographer has been making photos since the ‘60s. In the darkroom, Mr. Smith discusses some of his greatest hits as a photographer, his approach, favorite film to photograph with and more.
Joseph Rodriguez began taking photographs of people in his neighborhood of Spanish Harlem in the late-1980s. His award-winning work documenting and telling the stories of everyday life has appeared across publications and in books. In this episode, Rodriguez shares his journey to becoming a documentary photographer, makes a print in the darkroom and talks about his commercial work.
A panel discussion among Mr. Russell, Mr. Zaca and Mr. Rodriguez, moderated by Halima Taha will follow the screening. View the trailer for the series here.
Halima Taha is a renowned art professional, curator, and advocate for Black visual culture, best known for her groundbreaking bestseller, "Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas," which established the value of collecting fine art, printmaking, and photography by Americans of African descent as viable assets in the art market and served as a PBS membership incentive, exceeding fundraising goals threefold. Notably through her work with the National Black Fine Art Show and Swann Galleries, where she helped pioneer the first international African American auction category, inspiring major museums to pursue African American art collections for exhibition and acquisition. Currently, Taha manages the Kamoinge Digital Archive—the nation’s oldest Black photographer collective—in partnership with the David C. Driskell Center and funded by the Mellon Foundation, while also contributing as an art curator, advisor, and strategic planner to the development and documentation of contemporary visual culture. Taha is also the Artistic Chair at Hammonds House Museum and serves on the boards of the Clara Elizabeth Jackson Carter Foundation and the Brandywine Workshop and Archive, while advising organizations such as the Calabar Artist Residences at Colab Arts, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, and the Ntozake Shange Trust, earning widespread respect for her tireless dedication to supporting artists and advancing Black visual culture.
Find “The Darkroom MCs” on the ALL ARTS site, app and YouTube channel. New episodes drop on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. EST beginning June 18.Visit YouTube.com/AllArtsTV and AllArts.org/DarkroomMCs
