Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue @ Seattle Art Museum

Last call for art besties 📣

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📸: Courtesy of Seattle Art Museum | Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue

Now through January 22 • Open Wednesday – Sunday

In 1976, artists Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey, then both in their early 20s, met in a photography class Bey was teaching at New York’s Studio Museum in Harlem. Not every friendship formed in your 20s is made to last, but theirs did: That moment of happenstance would change both of their lives — and the course of American art.

“Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue” is a glimpse into that history and the work that followed. Widely considered among the most influential photographers working today, Weems and Bey document Black identity and community in the United States. Whether at historical sites linked with the Underground Railroad or coastal islands in the Atlantic, both artists bring a strong lens of gender and class awareness to their work, with grounding in the artistic traditions of street photography and portraiture.

Getting to see work from either of these artists is lucky. Seeing both at once — like a certain chance meeting in 1976 — could be world-shifting. And also like a serendipitous meeting, it’s a rare opportunity. So once you’ve seen enough Hallmark holiday movies and unwrapped your last white elephant and tippled mulled wine with your most tenuously linked relative, get out and treat yourself to a less-generic delight. Bring a friend you hope you’ll know forever.