New photography exhibition ‘As We Rise’ shines a light on Black life around the world

A new exhibition brings photography from African diasporic cultures celebrating the diverse beauty of Black life across the globe.

‘As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic’ opens at the Saatchi Gallery in London today and will run to 20 January 2025. It’s the debut of the exhibition from Elliott Ramsey, curator at Vancouver’s Polygon Gallery.

Ramsey has combed through the Wedge Collection, started in 1997 by Dr Kenneth Montague to create a catalogue of art that explores Black life. With work from Black artists from Canada, United States, Great Britain, The Caribbean, and the African Continent, ‘As We Rise’ will present a broad exploration of the way Black artists have spread and documented their cultures around the world.

The exhibition’s title is taken from a phrase Montague’s father would often say: “Lifting as we rise”, an ethic that Montague has passed on through amassing the impressive Wedge Collection. ‘As We Rise’ captures this by presenting Black life through the lens of Black photographers, creating mutual and consensual portraits.

“I’m honoured 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,” Montague said of the newly opened exhibition.

Ramsey, commenting on the breadth of work on display noted: “From the 1930s’ Harlem Renaissance, through postcolonial Bamako, to contemporary Toronto, ‘As We Rise’ celebrates the polyphony of Black life – and the nuanced approaches of Black photographers in representing these scenes of love, leisure, and resistance.”

Artists featured in the exhibition include: Gordon Parks, an icon of civil rights-era photography; Malick Sidibé, one of the most important photographers of post-colonial Africa; and Carrie Mae Weems, among the most significant photographers of our time.