BAM Presents Kahlil Joseph's BLKNWS

Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph makes his BAM artistic debut with the groundbreaking exhibition BLKNWS-a mesmerizing news-creation machine that redefines the genre of the news broadcast. The public exhibition generates a plurality of editorial voices that approach reportage through a distinctly Black lens. Rejuvenating what news can be, BLKNWS combines appropriated news and social media with originally produced, anchored segments to create a continuously updated broadcast that is as much a news service as it is a portal to an elevated state of awareness. The public exhibition will run through Mar 23-Jun 21.

Joseph, who earned an Emmy nomination for co-directing Beyoncé's Lemonade HBO special, presented BLKNWS at the 2019 Venice Biennale and most recently at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. The project consists of a continuously updated newscast in the form of a two-channel video that splices historical and contemporary found footage with newly shot scenes of newsroom and documentary reportage. Each broadcast is shown on two closely hung screens that play simultaneous footage meant to inflect and inform each other in a continuous dialog. Joseph's distinctive use of juxtaposition and montage produces a positively pitched news broadcast in the form of a visual art experience that delivers strangely truthful, original, and hyper-contemporary insights into the human condition.

BLKNWS will be on view in three distinct venues: BAM's Devitre Lounge, located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building; the BAM Strong Campbell Lobby, the newly renovated inner lobby adjacent to the Harvey Theater; and Weeksville Heritage Center, one of the first communities for free Black Americans in the US. Presenting BLKNWS at Weeksville allows the groundbreaking work to be seen in a non-theater space and by different audiences and communities and expands on BAM's long-established relationship with the historical institution. With new programming content simultaneously transmitted from the artist's studio over the duration of its BAM debut, BLKNWS is a constantly evolving artwork that expands over the course of its presentation. From history to popular culture to current events, the various subjects in BLKNWS are entertaining, informational, and educational.

BLKNWS is a part of Yours Theirs Ours- a new season of 16 engagements by dynamic artists across the artistic spectrum-with many making their BAM debuts. The season runs through June 2020 and will be presented in all of BAM's venues and off-site.

Kahlil Joseph is a Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker best known for his large-scale video installations and collaborations with Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Arcade Fire, FKA twigs, and Shabazz Palaces. He wrote and directed the 2013 Sundance award-winning companion short film for Flying Lotus' Until the Quiet Comes album. His short, Fly Paper, an homage to Harlem and the late photographer Roy DeCarava, made its debut at the New Museum in New York in 2017. Joseph has participated in group and solo exhibitions at internationally-recognized institutions and museums, including the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University where BLKNWS was originally incubated; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Contemporary Arts Center; Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. He currently serves as the artistic director of The Underground Museum, an independent art museum, exhibition space, and community hub in Los Angeles that he co-founded with his late brother, the visionary artist and curator Noah Davis.

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