Exhibition photographs include Robert Kennedy applauding Ella Fitzgerald,
Olympic Champion Jesse Owens, and the Mexican Centennial.
When Carrick DeHart steps outside his office, he is surrounded by diverse faces of the struggle for equity and inclusion in the United States. Photos of a Navajo man at a Senate hearing, transgender activist Christine Jorgensen, and feminist anthropologist Margaret Mead line one side of the hallway. Olympic champion Jesse Owens and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are on the other.
鈥淚 love it because it鈥檚 a mixture. I look at it like a palette of colors, just a palette of people who make us unique,鈥� said DeHart, Director of Major Gifts and Co-Chair of 海角社区CI鈥檚 Black Faculty & Staff Association. 鈥淚t represents the possible.鈥�
鈥淭he Long Struggles for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Icons, Moments, and Voices鈥� features the work of acclaimed photojournalist Santi Visalli. It is the inaugural exhibition of the President鈥檚 Gallery, established by President Richard Yao in celebration of the University鈥檚 20th Anniversary and located in Richard R. Rush Hall.聽
鈥淚 want the President鈥檚 Gallery to showcase the University鈥檚 many collections in ways that promote reflection and discussion on the historical, physical, social, and cultural realities of the world,鈥� Yao said.
The exhibit of Visalli鈥檚 black-and-white photographs opened Sept. 19 with a series of receptions and continues through June.聽
Professor of Art History Irina D. Costache, Ph.D., curated the 27 images. She worked with Monica Pereira, Head of Collections & Resource Management in the John Spoor Broome Library, to select them from almost 190,000 negatives that the 90-year-old photographer donated to 海角社区CI.聽
Visalli, a Santa Barbara resident whose career spanned more than six decades, took most of the exhibition鈥檚 photos in the 1960s and 1970s. Prominent figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Ella Fitzgerald fill the 鈥淚cons鈥� section in the lobby. Down one hallway is the 鈥淰oices鈥� section, with additional political and cultural figures who helped advance racial and social justice. The 鈥淢oments鈥� wing features unsung heroes during important moments including celebrations and protests.
Staff and faculty examine photos during an opening reception.
The pictures 鈥渁re a solemn reminder and powerful commemoration of seen and unseen events, silent and loud voices, and known and unknown heroes of the period,鈥� Costache wrote in the exhibition program.聽
Art History major Oscar Rios, who heard Visalli speak in one of his classes at 海角社区CI, spent part of the Fall 2022 semester creating the digital archive for the exhibition and researching the events depicted as part of his capstone project under the guidance of Costache and Art Professor Matthew Furmanski, M.F.A. Knowing the story behind the photos of a 1969 Mexican Centennial celebration, he was particularly drawn to them. They feature a Guanajuato student group that typically performed in the streets to raise money for college. That day, the group performed by invitation.
鈥淭hey are showcasing their culture, my culture, in New York,鈥� said Rios, who was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. in 2006. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty powerful.鈥�
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漏 Winter 2023 / Volume 27 / Number 2 / Biannual