Devin Allen’s first “colored” exhibition will be hosted by the Peale February 7–March 20, 2019.
> Get transcripts of Devin’s talk
> Get visual descriptions of this tour
“Stay dangerous,” a motto coined by D. Watkins, describes Devin Allen’s approach to artistic life and philosophy, and the impetus of his work in Spaces of the Un-Entitled. “Stay dangerous” is a challenge and a promise. It means that if you have the strength and daring to be honest in your experience of and interaction with the world, you can count on two things- Your strength will demand respect, and Your honesty will be a danger to those who live and profit by refusing it- and consequently, a danger to you. As you refuse to yield, you prove you have the strength to back up the danger of honesty. The more you stay dangerous, the more dangerous you become to the status quo.
Allen invites the audience to “Stay dangerous” as they reexamine their perceptions, experiences, and truths of the Spaces of the Un-Entitled, and our shared experience. ‘Spaces’ considers the immersive and connective qualities of photography, installation, and performance. The day after opening night, Devin Allen will speak with ghosts from his Un-Entitled past, the ghosts who reside in what was left behind, who are lost as Gentrification erases the history of neighborhoods.
“Stay dangerous” is about respect, as Spaces of the Un-Entitled respects the architectural history of the homes and lives left behind. And it’s about truth, as Devin Allen refuses to allow these spaces and lives to disappear under spackle and paint.
Take a Virtual Tour of the exhibition:
Click here to start your virtual tour!
Get visual descriptions of this tour
Devin Allen’s Spaces of the Un-Entitled extends his work in A Beautiful Ghetto into the spaces people inhabit, examining the remnants of lives uprooted or left behind. “These things are characters, too,” he explains- “Imagine how hard it was to leave some of these things behind.” Allen’s philosophy pays respect to the landscapes he works with, the life stories written into the walls. In this exhibition, Allen contemplates the simple possessions that make a home, the history contained within the discarded, forgotten, and missed pieces of a life. Click on the individual photographs in the virtual tour to hear Devin talking about their inception.
Public Events:
- February 7th @ 6-9pm OPENING RECEPTION:Devin Allen Art Talk with Q & A
- February 8th @ 7pm – Devin Allen One Man Performance
- February 15th @ 7pm – Baltimore Based Artist Kondwani Russell
- February 22nd @ 7pm – Devin Allen One Man Performance
- March 1st @ 7pm – Baltimore Based Artist Kondwani Russell
- March 22nd @ 6pm-9pm CLOSING RECEPTION: Collaboration Performance with Devin Allen, Cheyanne Givens, Kondwani Russell and Chris Wilson
> Get transcripts of Devin’s talk
Who is Devin Allen?
Devin Allen is a self-taught artist, born and raised in West Baltimore. He gained national attention when his photograph of the Baltimore Uprising was published on the cover of Time in May 2015 – only the third time the work of an amateur photographer had been featured. His photographs have also appeared in New York Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Aperture, and in the permanent collections of the National Museum of African American History & Culture, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He is the founder of Through Their Eyes, a youth photography educational program, and the winner of the 2017 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship.