In These Truths

Saturday, February 19, 2022–Sunday, June 5, 2022

In These Truths is an exhibition of works by Black cultural producers, co-curated by two of Buffalo’s most influential, charismatic, and insightful artists, Edreys Wajed and Aitina Fareed-Cooke, in collaboration with Curator of Public Art Aaron Ott. This invitational exhibition focuses on Black artists, emerging and established, who, through a wide range of mediums, provoke and reconsider, defy and embrace, test and talk about our shared reality. Collectively they create enduring and fertile forms that stand to profoundly challenge white America’s preconceived notions and to proudly present a Black America in all the complexity of its grace, struggle, and accomplishment.

The title of the of the exhibition arises, in part, from one of our country’s foundational pronouncements in the Declaration of Independence. That document begins with its famous and unforgettable claim that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal—a statement that asserts inclusivity while never delivering it. In the poem she composed for the 2021 presidential inauguration, “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman wrote, “But while democracy can be periodically delayed / it can never be permanently defeated / In this truth / in this faith we trust.” And so, in our endeavor to demand equality and to expand true democracy for all, we must first honor the fact that Black bodies, Black thought, Black labor, and Black culture are foundational elements on which our nation is constructed.

While Buffalo was once among the last stops on the Underground Railroad, it is now one of the most segregated cities in the United States. This insidious division imposes a wide range of costs disproportionately on people of color, restricting access to healthcare, education, employment, and wealth. This exhibition lays the grounds for meaningful cultural interactions and dialogues necessary to illuminate and advance conversations on race and humanity that are essential to our country and our community.

Our humanity, what is truly central to our lives and livelihoods, to our resistance and joy—this is the lodestar of our exhibition. The selected Black artists all assert, in their own voices and in their own truths, that nothing is more straightforward, and yet more imperative, than affirming our shared humanity. They and their peers working today provide perhaps the most vital means to represent America as it really is: complex, multiracial, and multifaceted. We move forward with them as they lead the way.

ASL interpretation for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing is available upon request. To schedule an ASL interpreter for a virtual event, please contact Access & Community Programs Coordinator Karen Duval at 716.270.8249 or kduval@albrightknox.org at least two weeks in advance.

Admission to Albright-Knox Northland is always Pay What You Wish. We will be giving all admission donations for the final weekends of In These Truths to Feed Buffalo (May 20–22), Every Bottom Covered (May 27–29), and African Heritage Food Co-op (June 3–5).

About the Artists

Nina Chanel Abney

Photo of dark-skinned woman in leather jacket and black hat blacktop and fence in the background

Adeyemi Adegbesan

Man of medium-light skin tone in yellow basketball jersey sits on stool studio a long scroll at his feet, digital photographs in the background

Chloë Bass

Woman of medium-light skin with long black hair in striped cardigan seated, in background is a natural setting

BLACKMAU

Julia Bottoms

Woman of medium-light skin with curly brown hair in a brightly green and magenta sleeveless top seen from the shoulders up, a row of paintings hangs on the wall behind her

Allana Clarke

Woman of dark skin tone with close-cropped curly black hair in black shirt, seen from the shoulders up against a black background

Raque Ford

Woman of medium-light skin tone and curly blonde hair in black shirt rests right arm on a shelf, white room with plants in the background

Derek Fordjour

A man of dark skin tone in a blue shirt sits with hands clasped in front of a brightly colored wall, predominantly yellow with patterned blocks of orange, green, pink, and red

vanessa german

Woman of dark skin tone in a spattered apron, blue shirt, and pink handkerchief tied around her neck stands with a hand resting on the "shoulder" of a sculptural figure, composed of red beads, bronze, cloth, and glass bottles

LaToya M. Hobbs

A woman of dark skin tone seen from the shoulders up, in an yellow blazer, with red earrings, and her hair in twists, photographed from below and looking up and to the right.

George Afedzi Hughes

Abstract painting of yellow car, on the left and right side of which are two portraits of Black figures

Richard Howard Hunt

An elderly man of dark skin tone seen from the shoulders up in a black jacket and shirt, in the background, out of focus is a jumble of objects

Tony Lewis

Man of medium skin tone in a white shirt sits in a space with a concrete floor with white square pillars

James Little

Man of dark skin tone in blue denim shirt speaking, hand gesturing in the air as if grabbing, at his left a painting of brightly colored diagonal stripes, predominantly orange

Faheem Majeed

Man of medium-dark skin tone with goatee in black shirt, seen from the shoulders up

Delita Martin

Woman of dark skin tone with short hair and glass, in orange shirt and white scar with black pattern, seen from shoulders up, rests head on left hand, against a black background

Esmaa Mohamoud

Oluseye Ogunlesi

Man of dark skin tone in black sleeveless shirt faces front.

Kellie Romany

Woman of medium-dark skin tone with a gold pendant dangling around her neck stands in front of a stand of trees

Devan Shimoyama

Man of dark skin tone in blue shirt with leaf pattern stands in front of two artworks

Phyllis Thompson

A woman of dark skin tone with a black hat, glasses, and long beaded earrings wearing a dark red shirt and blue apron with a large window and red print behind her

Rhonda Wheatley

A woman of medium-dark skin tone in a black leather jacket, seen from the waist up, stands with arms cross, head cocked to one side

About the Curators

Photo of Wajed in all black with wide-brim hat

Edreys Wajed is celebrated for his work as a musician, poet, playwright, jewelry designer, graphic designer, educator, entrepreneur, and muralist (including as a contributor to Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative projects The Freedom Wall, 2017, and Love Black, 2020). After establishing himself as a self-trained barber as a teenager, Wajed built his early reputation on customized hats, clothes, and hand-designed logos, all before formally studying graphic design in college. His creativity, craftsmanship, and passion to inspire people are central to his spirit of entrepreneurship.

Most recently, Wajed has developed a new artistic presence and voice in the form of musically inspired paintings. Suffused with unique mark-making and rhythmic movement, examples of these works are in the collections of the Burchfield Penney Art Center and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Aitina Fareed-Cooke initially pursued Fareed-Cooke in armchair creative expression in words, and later photography and music, as a means to address the trauma of her early life. She has since become an accomplished Christian hip-hop artist (under the name A.I. The Anomaly) and award-winning photographer and has established her own photography and film company, Get Fokus’d Productions. As a coordinator and educator with various local nonprofit organizations, she has dedicated herself to helping young people claim the power to rewrite their own stories.

Fareed-Cooke’s original work has been featured at CEPA Gallery, Jamestown Community College, Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, and Blue Plate Studio.

Aaron Ott is the Curator of Public Art at the Albright-Knox. Photo of curator Aaron Ott In this role he aims to create spaces of dialogue where diverse communities have the ability to engage with and respond to great public art. Ott’s curatorial philosophy is grounded in the notion that our shared landscape is abundant with opportunities to create, experience, and talk about notions of beauty, culture, originality, and innovation.