“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word ‘love’ here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace—not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”
—James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

“Salvation: A State of Being” is a group exhibition that meditates on how Black artists utilize their practice as a forum to reflect and express notions of self-love, self-esteem, self-determination, and self-actualization. Inspired by the seminal text by the late trailblazing Black feminist and author bell hooks, Salvation: Black People and Love, this exhibition seeks to explore how Black image-making actively functions as a vehicle of resistance against the dehumanization of Black people and a device to guide us toward an expansive view of the Black imagination.

“Salvation: A State of Being” is also an homage to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by offering two questions for us to ponder: What is love? What is next in the journey toward liberation? Ossei-Mensah invites these seven photographers to reflect on these queries and share works from their oeuvres that best engage with these ideas and provide further food for thought as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and start 2022.

“Salvation: A State of Being” is a follow-up to Larry Ossei-Mensah’s critically acclaimed 2021 outdoor exhibition, “Let Freedom Ring.”