Surrey's Black Arts Centre is a venue again for Capture Photography Festival, held annually in Metro Vancouver.
The public art of Speculations Within and Beyond the Black Fantastic is shown on exterior windows of the Whalley centre (10305 City Pkwy., at Civic Hotel), along with Sit Still, an in-gallery exhibit that opens Thursday, April 24, 6 p.m.
Work by artists Kriss Munsya and Ngadi Smart is featured in Speculations, which addresses "the history of Western photography and the political power dynamics that attempt to pathologize the Black subject – and, by extension, Blackness itself – within and beyond the frame," writes Olumoroti Soji-George.
The art, on view until July 31, "scrutinizes the construction of race and the animate and inanimate paraphernalia utilized to reinforce its fictitious nature," says a post on capturephotofest.com.
Continuing until July 26 is the Sit Still exhibit featuring Collin Patrick's art, curated by Arshi Chadha.
"Spiritually speaking, Blackness is not still," says a post on Capture's website. "Despite this, the movement and motion of Black people have been intensely restricted and policed, resulting in the displacement afflicted upon Black people across the diaspora throughout time. Reflecting on the ineffable nature of the Black spirit, in this series of works, (Chadha and Patrick) confront the juxtapositions of being held still."
The roots of Black Arts Centre were first planted in 2020 by Whalley-based Solid State Community Industries. By summer 2023, the gallery launched with an “open studio” program where people could create art, followed by a couple of exhibits. Events include DJ workshops, album-listenings and group reading nights, detailed on theblackartscentre.ca.
In 2024, Hafiz Akinlusi curated the Capture festival's “Family First?,” exhibit at Black Arts Centre, showcasing work by Jade Duncanson, Chukwudubem Ukaigwe, Delali Cofie, Deion Squires and Iris Houngbo.
Capture's 2025 calendar includes exhibitions, events and public art in Vancouver and surrounding cities.
