By Ethan Duran
LaToya Ruby Frazier poses for her own profile. Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
On Nov. 14, photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier will give her presentation “Art As Transformation: Using Photography for Social Change” at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. The presentation will be held in MIAD’s Raw Space on the fourth floor, a flexible space the college uses to exhibit art and hold public events. Doors to the Raw Space will open at 5:30 p.m. and the talk will start at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Seating will be held on a first come, first serve basis.
Frazier has been taking up close and personal photographs of black communities since the early 2000s and has covered cities like Flint, Baltimore and Chicago. At the presentation she will draw from her book “The Notion of Family” and go over the works of historical black activists like Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes. After the presentation, a Q&A session will be held so students and the public can ask Frazier questions.
“The Creativity Series brings in internationally renowned creativity professionals to present to students and the public,” said Dana McCullough, MIAD’s Communications Manager. According to her, the goal of the Creativity Series is to bring in a broad spectrum of professionals to enrich student experience.
Frazier will take a two-day residency at the college during which she will engage students in the classroom.
The Creativity Series at MIAD has brought in names like pop-up book artist Robert Sabuda and feminist activists Guerilla Girls since 2012. McCullough said that the Creativity Series is an extension of MIAD’s community involvement. Frazier has two art galleries open in Milwaukee: One at MIAD called “Steel Genesis” that ends Dec. 8 and an exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum in the Family Pictures gallery.
To find out more visit https://www.miad.edu/get-involved/for-friends-and-donors/development-events/creativity-series.