Black Power posters created in the mid-twentieth century by Emory Douglas are among the most powerful and enduring visual images of protest and solidarity in the past century. They helped define a symbol of African American solidarity and have influenced protest symbolism across the world into the 21st century.
The University of Queensland Visual Politics Research Group and the University of Queensland Art Museum will present a seminar on Black Power Posters – Impact and Influence featuring Emory Douglas and his Australian collaborator, artist Richard Bell. The discussion panel will be chaired by ABC Radio National’s Daniel Browning and will include UQ’s Roland Bleiker, Professor of International Relations, and Sally Butler, Associate Professor of Art History.
The discussion panel will feature short statements and then open to the floor for conversations about how the Black Power aesthetic provides a rallying point for protest art and imagery and considers transformations in poster art in the digital era.
Emory Douglas (b.1943) is an internationally leading USA artist whose posters largely defined the Black Power aesthetic during the 1960s and 1970s. He became Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party in 1967 and has remained a leading artist activist working across the world. Emory Douglas and Australia’s Richard Bell have collaborated on art and activism works and events since 2009.
Richard Bell (b.1953) is an Australian artist and political activist known for his confronting stance against racism and social injustice still inflicted on Australian Indigenous people. His work has been exhibited and collected across the world for over two decades, as well as numerous personal collaborations with international artists and activists, including Emory Douglas.
Free. Places limited.
RSVP is essential
Image: Richard Bell and Emory Douglas, ‘Foley Vs The Springboks (Green)’ 2014 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on linen, 120 x 150 cm
