On March 10, Carrie Mae Weems was named the winner of the 2023 Hasselblad Prize, becoming the first black woman in history to win the prize, which includes 2 million Swedish kronor ($189,000). This honor is considered one of the most prestigious awards bestowed in recognition of a living photographer. Past recipients include Nan Goldin, Miyako Ishiuchi, Graciela Iturbide, Alfredo Jaar, Cindy Sherman, Dayanita Singh and Wolfgang Tillmans. Weems will receive the award at a ceremony in Gothenburg, Sweden on October 13; on the same day, the Hasselblad center will inaugurate an exhibition of his work, accompanied by a publication.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Weems studied modern dance before turning to photography in her twenties. Through a practice encompassing installation, film, performance, and photography, she investigates issues surrounding politics, feminism, and African-American identity, in works that center diverse personal experiences and historical records. His groundbreaking kitchen table series from 1990 features the photographer herself, seated in front of the titular piece of furniture while various other subjects come and go, exhibiting and evoking a range of attitudes as they perform different actions, such as smoking, drinking, playing cards. , and make up. In series such as “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried” (1995-1996) and “The Hampton Project” (2000), Weems placed photographs she found in museum and university archives. in conversation with his own work to comment on the history of racism in photography as well as the emotional life of hitherto ignored historical subjects.
In a press release, the Hasselblad Foundation praised Weems for anticipating “the salient issues of our time – the struggle for racial equality and human rights – with unwavering visual and ethical force, with a “practical artistic [that] is inherently activist, poignant and lyrical.
Weems noted in a statement, “Amid the sweeping changes taking place in cultural institutions, and as the first African-American woman to receive the Hasselblad Award, some might say, ‘It was about time! Nevertheless, receiving the Hasselblad award left me speechless,” she continued. “With recognition comes the continued responsibility to fulfill the promise made to myself and to the field, which is to shine light into the darkest corners of our time and so, with a sense of grace and humility. , to illuminate a way forward.”
