The Mougins Photography Centre is an institution dedicated to still and moving images, committed to promoting and exhibiting the many trends in contemporary photography.
While almost everyone may be familiar with the expression ‘Black is beautiful,’ few people know who made it popular. We owe not only the slogan but an entire aesthetic specific to the Black community to an African-American photographer. Native to Brooklyn, Kwame Brathwaite (1938-2003) founded a movement in the 1960s whose ambition was to portray an original culture breaking free from the dominant culture. With the creation of AJASS and the Grandassa models, Brathwaite used the medium of photography to pioneer a freer way of representing the Black body. Hair was no longer straightened and skin colour was celebrated. Drawing inspiration from jazz, funk, and blues, he set up events, such as fashion shows, that asserted the heritage of the African continent while at the same time reflecting the everyday concerns of the African-American minority. He also the photographer of choice for The Stylistics and Stevie Wonder. This exhibition is the first retrospective of the photographer to be held in Europe.
