|
|
|
“When I was six years old and she was forty, Willie Mae Wade came to work for my family. She lived with us for thirteen years seeing her own children only on Thursdays and Sundays. For forty years our lives were completely intertwined…..It was only after her death that I really began to understand Willie as a whole human being. “
- Suzanne Greenslade
In 1958, Willie Mae Wade came to live with Suzanne Greenslade’s Jewish-American family In Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Suzanne was a young child. Willie’s Black American family referred to her as a domestic worker. To the Greenslade family she was their live-in-maid, but to Suzanne she was a mother figure and a confidante and remained so until her death in 1998. As a photography student in 1983, Suzanne began taking photographs of Willie – her home, her family and her life. This exhibition is a fraction of a vast collection of work paying tribute to a loving and enduring relationship.
Showing during Black History Month, this exhibition, funded by the Arts Council of Wales, documents a relationship that transcends generations, race and ingrained cultural differences. It also explores deeply rooted histories of black and white people in the American South, At times, this tribute goes beyond telling a personal story, exploring issues of segregation, the American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) and beyond.
MY OTHER MOTHER will be opened by Carme Manuel, Professor of African and American Studies at the University of Valencia. A new exhibition catalogue will be available.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a symposium and film screenings. Please book in advance.
SYMPOSIUM: Photography, Race and Identity: The USA and Wales
Saturday, 10th October 2009, 10am – 5pm
Admission is £5 and includes lunch
10.00 Tea, coffee
10.30 Glenn Jordan, Photography That Cares
11.45 A Conversation with the Artist Suzanne Greenslade
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Robert Greetham on Suzanne Greenslade’s Work
15.00 Tea break
15.15 Roundtable on Race in the USA and Wales – with Glenn Jordan, Suzanne Greenslade and Professor Charlotte Williams
FILM: Mississippi Burning, 7.00pm, Thursday, 8th October 2009
For further information please contact
us at:
Butetown History & Arts Centre
5 Dock Chambers
Bute Street
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
(2 minutes walk from the Waterfront)
Tues to Fri 10am – 5pm
Sat and Sun and Bank Holidays 11am –
4.30pm
029 20 256 757
E-mail: marketing@bhac.org
www.bhac.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
