The Southampton African American Museum presents a solo exhibition, “My Love for Our Community” featuring the fine arts photography of John Pinderhughes. The exhibit will be open to the public July 17 through September 10 with an opening VIP ticketed reception Saturday, July 16, from 6 to 8 PM. There will be a short program with reflections by the artist about his long history with Sag Harbor and Eastern Long Island and what community means to him.
Pinderhughes has been featured in several publication and books including, “Reflections In Black: A History of Black Photographers” by Deborah Willis.
Willis wrote the following on the exhibition, “Looking at this work we see how he visualized the horizon from the rising sun at dawn to the setting sun at the end of the day… images of the Atlantic coastline from Maryland to New York frame ideas about surviving through a coastal storm or playing on the sandy shores. Pinderhughes is well known for his narrative portrait series, and the portraits presented here are of family and friends who share their love for communal living — leisure, work, and play… poetic renderings of friendship. By reinterpreting his visual history, he merges an expanded narrative that focuses on gender, race, family, and community history.”
Pinderhughes has gained a reputation as an award-winning professional artist, with major business clients as well as the attention of museum and gallery curators as seen through his illustrious exhibition history. He has been widely exhibited and has work in major collections including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Museum of Modern Art and the Studio Museum of Harlem. He is a longtime member of Kamoinge, a collective of Black artists formed in the 1960s to assist photographers in getting noticed in the art world.
SAAM began in 2005 under The East End African American Museum and Center for Excellence. It has functioned as a museum — hosting events and exhibits in public spaces throughout Southampton Village — most notably the annual Southampton African American Film Festival.
SAAM is located at 245 North Sea Road in Southampton. Affectionally called “The Barbershop,” the building was a local gathering place for area African Americans from the 1940s until its closing. In 2010, the Village Historic Preservation Board designated it the first African American historic landmark in the Village of Southampton.
VIP tickets are $50 to the opening reception. RSVP by visiting saamuseum.org.