Curated by: Akintola Hanif & HYCIDE magazine
Dates: November 30- December 16, 2018
Location: Central Gallery @ 80 Hanson Place
Made possible thanks to the generous gifts made by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and NYS Council on the Arts.
Opening Reception: Friday, November 30 | 7-10 PM
SUMMARY
The highly-anticipated release of HYCIDE magazine’s 9th issue, HYCIDE In Flux, and pop up exhibition at MoCADA, traces Akintola Hanif’s evolution as an artist to date, including Hanif’s amazing journey back to his craft after suffering a stroke in 2017. It also features a thematic exploration of impermanence and change in the midst of a changing political climate and landscape.
Entitled “Now Jeru[salem]”, the pop up exhibit includes photos that span the breadth of Hanif’s two-decade career, before and since becoming the editor-in-chief of the Newark-based photojournalism and arts magazine he founded in 2011, in remembrance of the “little people” of Now Jerusalem (slang for Essex County & surrounding area). From his documentation of marginalized groups — such as gang members and the homeless — to his many portraits revealing the beauty and complexity of Black style and subculture, over 30 captivating images will be on view at the museum beginning November 30, 2018. The collaboration comes several years after MoCADA became the first institute to sell the magazine, and seven years since the museum hosted an event for HYCIDE’s first anniversary issue (2012), which was supported with a forward by MoCADA founder and New York City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo.
The magazine’s 9th issue also features stories and images by other artists focusing on spiritual, political and creative transformations and turning points. Photographer Philip Shung presents portraits of Black Brooklynites during a time of gentrification; Artist Tanda Francis discusses her transition from graphic design to sculpture, and Jameel Newkirk describes the otherworldly inspiration for his psychedelic photo-based images.
A photo essay entitled, “The 5 Wards,” explores the city of Newark during its 350th anniversary in 2016, a time when the media narrative shifted from a focus on crime to redevelopment and undeniable signs of gentrification. Photographers include Colleen Gutwein, Cesar Melgar, Manuel Acevedo, Fabian Palencia, Stefan Brown, Tamara Fleming, and Nema Etebar.
HYCIDE In Flux sets the stage for HYCIDE’s upcoming Black Power/White Privilege issue, due out next year.
FEATURED ARTISTS
HYCIDE magazine, based in Newark, is a unique hybrid of photojournalism and art that presents stories of survival and freedom. It provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of marginalized people around the world and features the work of cutting edge, emerging, and established artists. Launched in 2011 by Editor-in-Chief Akintola Hanif, and journalists Carrie Stetler and fayemi shakur, the entire collection of HYCIDE has been acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art Thomas J. Watson Library, the International Center of Photography, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Photojournalist, filmmaker and HYCIDE Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Akintola Hanif’s photography and film projects have been featured in such venues as RUSH Arts Gallery, MoCADA Museum, Columbia University, Princeton University, Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, the Newark Museum and the New Jersey State Museum.
His corporate commissions include projects for Prudential, The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Red Bull. He currently works as the resident documentarian for YouthBuild Newark and the creative director | field producer for The Amplification Project. His first short film, FREEDOM OR EVERYBODY DIES was produced for The Museum of African American Music. His latest film MORAL PANIC: More Heat Than Light chronicles gang life and the challenges of prisoner reentry and was produced by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Follow Akintola Hanif
Follow HYCIDE Magazine
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Your support goes in a long way in helping MoCADA create exhibitions and other special programs that benefit the community. Click GiveMo to give a gift today.
