Twenty emerging photographers and filmmakers present refreshing images of young black men who challenge popular notions of urban black masculinity. Guest curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis, this exhibition defies the negative image of the black male as “thug” and explores contemporary expressions of the “Black Dandy,” the sophisticated urban gentleman whose “swagger” engages both African aesthetics and elements of European fashion.

Photo by Russell K. Frederick

Exhibition at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

Curated Shantrelle P. Lewis is an independent curator and scholar who currently serves as the Director of Exhibitions and Public Programming at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. A New Orleans native, she migrated to Bed Stuy, Brooklyn in 2009. Having received a BA and MA in African American Studies from Howard and Temple Universities respectively, Lewis has demonstrated a commitment to researching, documenting and preserving African Diasporan culture. Her travels to Cuba, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Spain and London have allowed her to observe the manifestation of the African Aesthetic firsthand. She has curated exhibitions on such topics as tributes to photography legends Jamel Shabazz and Jack T. Franklin; a tribute to funk diva Betty Davis; the feminine in African sacred traditions; and post-Katrina New Orleans art. She recently curated the acclaimed Sex Crimes Against Black Girls exhibition on behalf of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Skylight Gallery.