BUFFALO, NY.- On Saturday, February 19, Albright-Knox Northland will open its new exhibition, titled In These Truths. The exhibition is co-curated by Edreys Wajed and Aitina Fareed-Cooke, two of Buffalo’s most influential, charismatic, and insightful artists, in collaboration with Albright-Knox Curator of Public Art, Aaron Ott. The exhibition will remain on view through Sunday, June 5, 2022.

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 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.”




"I have come to the understanding that curation is the orchestration of a symphony of thoughts, ideas, perspectives, and beyond,” said Aitina Fareed-Cooke. “Essentially, through the platform of the Albright-Knox, Aaron Ott's expertise and leadership, Edreys' rhythmically creative mind, together we are conducting this composition of art that drips from the brushes of the souls of these impeccable creatives of color. This particular journey has been a delicate process of selecting, combining, and displaying a diverse group of artistic powerhouses that individually and collectively crescendos a plethora of unapologetic truths. It's bold. It's provocative. It's harmonic. The hope is that even after the walls go down, these truths will forever linger throughout our city of Buffalo and beyond."

"The opportunity to serve as one of the co-curators for this upcoming show is absolutely remarkable and more than likely a life- and career-impacting commitment that I had to say yes to,” said Edreys Wajed. “With Aaron Ott's experience and leading expertise as a curator, the Albright-Knox as a long-standing institution and guardian of contemporary arts, and the layered creative energy and laser-professionalism of Aitina Fareed-Cooke, this feels like a homerun. There is no doubt that this exhibition featuring twenty-two prominent, heavy-hitting artists of color, debuting in Buffalo, New York, during these unstable times, will greatly shift paradigms that once seemed unshakeable. We are here to stir it up, influence culture, and make a statement that cannot be rescinded or revoked.”

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 the 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.

This exhibition will include works by: Nina Chanel Abney, Chloë Bass, Julia Bottoms, Allana Clarke, Raque Ford, Derek Fordjour, vanessa german, LaToya Hobbs, George Hughes, Richard Hunt, Tony Lewis, James Little, Esmaa Mohamoud, Faheem Majeed, Delita Martin, Oluseye, Stacey Robinson & Kamau Grantham, Kellie Romany, Devan Shimoyama, Phyllis Thompson, Rhonda Wheatley, and Yung Yemi.