Ryders from the book, Prez Shifty of the Blaque Pearls MC and Church Lady, traveled from New York City to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to visit the “Ezy Ryders: History & Tradition, Heart & Soul” show at the Harley-Davidson Museum! I was so psyched that they made the trip, and had a great time on the H-D campus. More ryders will be visiting this summer…
Ezy Ryders exhibition now open at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, until 2027.
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I’m thrilled to share that a selection of photographs from Ezy Ryders will be on display at the Royal Theatre Arts Club, at the Copenhagen Opera House, Denmark. The show will be up from April 13-May 30, 2023. Here is the exhibition text:
This exhibition contains a curated selection of images from the artist’s newly released monograph, “Ezy Ryders."
"Ezy Ryders," which Cate Dingley photographed over a period of five years, follows New York City’s African-American motorcycle clubs as they denounce respectability, defy stereotypes, and find freedom within their community. The images depict the bikers’ lives, which are often linked together tighter than those of blood relations. One sees them throwing family barbecues outside the clubhouse, collecting diapers for low-income local families, commemorating their dead, flirting at a bikini bike wash, and socializing all night at an anniversary party. The clubs, or MCs, represent the cliche American ideals of individualism and rebelliousness, but with a different face than is usually expected or portrayed in American pop culture and media.
Jimmie Briggs writes in the monograph’s introduction:
“The women and men whom Dingley lovingly presents are part of the American (counter)culture as much as any other better-known group of people. They were born “outlaw” by the very nature of their skin color. Not only do Dingley’s images reveal the degree to which a Black MC culture was created to distinctly center their Blackness, but they also show them as proud, loving, tradition-focused, and respectful people. This project affirms the extraordinary warmth and zeal for life which is the heartbeat of Black MCs in New York City and throughout the United States, in defense against a larger society that has tried to stigmatize, or worse yet, ignore them.”
Curated by Steen Sundland.
Since last weekend was such a success, CENTER has decided to extend "The Big Reveal: Telling Truth in an Age of Fiction" to this weekend, too! A selection from Ezy Ryders will be shown & there are many other exhibitions & installations nearby as part of Currents New Media Festival.
// When: Friday, June 14 & Saturday, June 15, 8:30 – 10pm
// Where: El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, East side of building, outside at the Santa Fe Railyard
// How: Free & Open to the Public
RSVP to the Facebook Event
The Big Reveal: Telling Truth in an Age of Fiction
From the press release:
Photography today can feel invisible. It saturates the news, social media, advertising, and vernacular uses in everyday life. Yet, photography’s ubiquitousness gives it a quiet power in numbers. It aids in the telling of important truths and lies; reinforcing rhetoric and debunking myths. Photography has the power to tell a story from an individual perspective and to be understood by the masses. The Big Reveal: Telling Truth in an Age of Fiction explores how photographers today are revealing truths and addressing the roles of fact and fiction in contemporary society.
El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe / East side of building, at the Santa Fe Railyard
Friday, June 7th, & Saturday, June 8th / 8-10PM
Free & open to the public
Photographs from Ezy Ryders will be included in the outdoor projection. Selections from thirty-eight artists will be played on a continuous loop throughout the evening. Light drinks & refreshments served.
"The "Big Reveal" photographers created fantastical worlds in their images as they sought out fictional narrative as the antidote to a harsh reality. Many projects faced social issues head on and documented the problems of humanity or brought light to the un-seen. For some, revealing truths meant looking inwards and expressing a personal truth through self-portraiture or collaborations with family. These projects emphasize the unique relationship between photography and the idea of ‘truth.’"
~ Juror Angie Rizzo, Exhibits & Programs Manager, CENTER
My series on New York City's black bikers, Ezy Ryders, will be projected for one week in downtown LA as part of the Lucie Foundation's Month of Photography Los Angeles. Find the four-story LCD screen at the corner of Francisco Street and Olympic Boulevard:
April 8-14, 2019
Top of each hour
Marriot Courtyard Hotel exterior
901 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015
The work of Hyung Kim, James Lattanzio, Joel Redman, & Wray Sinclair will also be shown.
As a huge believer in making art accessible for all, I'm grateful to be able to share Ezy Ryders in this free, public venue.
Honored to be included in this exhibition with photographers I've admired for a long time. Runs March 24-April 21, 2018.
Join us tonight for the opening:
March 24, 2018
7-9 PM
Mills Pond Gallery
660 New York 25A
St. James, NY 11780
Exhibiting Photographers:
Ted Barron, Fatemeh Behboudi, Alfredo Bini, Sylvain Cherkaoui, James Whitlow Delano, Cate Dingley, Kevin C. Downs, Jérôme Gence, Sid Kaplan, Boryan Katsarova, Andrew Lichtenstein, Ken Light, Catalina Martin-Chico, Beth Nakamura, Robert Nickelsberg, Frédéric Noy, Peggy Peattie, Lois Raimondo, J. B. Russell, Q. Sakamaki, Ekaterina Solovieva, Maggie Steber, Joana Toro, Melanie Wenger
Select photographs from Ezy Ryders will be shown in an exhibition opening on October 20th!
Brooklyn Arts Council's Creative Coalitions program and Brooklyn Born are transforming an East New York storefront into a vibrant art space. What Grows in East New York showcases East New York's locally-inspired visual art and its vibrant arts and culture community. Curated by Krista Saunders Scenna, Co-Founder of Ground Floor Gallery and the Director of Programs and Communications at Art Connects New York, the pop-up gallery will feature works of art that illustrate the culture of East New York and that explore each artist's relationship with the neighborhood.
Please join us for the reception!
Thursday, October 20, 2016 5-8pm
522 Sutter Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11207
L to Sutter Ave
2/3/4/5 to Pennsylvania Ave
FREE
ABOUT CURATOR, KRISTA SAUNDERS SCENNA:
Krista Saunders Scenna is an independent curator based in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked for the ICA in Philadelphia, the Queens Museum, the Whitney Museum of Art and New Museum in various capacities. Scenna was a 2010-11 Lori Ledis Curatorial Fellow. In addition to exhibitions at BRIC, NURTUREart and Lesley Heller Workspace, her curatorial portfolio also includes site-specific exhibitions in alternative forums such The Old Stone House, Vax Moto motorcycle garage, the DUMBO Arts Festival and SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2015. Scenna also advises emerging artists as the co-founder and director of Ground Floor Gallery in Park Slope, Brooklyn – a young gallery that connects underrepresented, local artists with new art buyers.
ABOUT BAC CREATIVE COALITIONS:
Since its inception in 2012, BAC's Creative Coalitions program has worked to mitigate the impact of displacement in East Brooklyn communities, and as a result of these efforts, longtime residents of East New York have been empowered to make positive, lasting changes within their respective neighborhoods through arts and cultural programming that speaks to their needs and aspirations. Uniting artists, local businesses, arts and culture organizations, community groups, and residents interested in expanding arts and culture within their communities, BAC's Creative Coalitions program engages a "boots on the ground" approach to building homegrown capacity and to providing technical assistance to neighborhood coalitions and their members so that neighborhoods can realize their potential for creating cultural vibrancy.
Happy to share this interview that Miss Sara Rosen did with me for Crave Online about the wheat paste exhibition of Ezy Ryders that will open tomorrow. I love her writing style—check out her other photography reviews/interviews as well!
Ezy Ryders will be on view for one day only, July 10, 2016, in an interactive outdoor installation at the Steel Horses Motorcycle Club in East New York, with select photographs remaining on the walls until weather deteriorates them. The opening on July 10 will be during the Steel Horses MC bike blessing, an annual event that draws thousands of local riders for a block party-style celebration with food, music, and a prayer to keep the riders safe on the road for the upcoming year.
Ezy Ryders is an ongoing body of work spanning two years about the black motorcycle club culture in New York City. Formal portraits highlight the individuality of the riders, and photographs from bike blessings, trophy parties, and road trips depict the strong community both within the clubs and between clubs from all over the city.
The exhibition is comprised of photographic wheatpastes, large-format black & white prints pasted to exterior walls in two different locations, Steel Horses Motorcycle Club (740 E 98th St, Brooklyn), and Black Falcons Motorcycle Club (523 Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx). The full show can only be viewed the day of the opening, but some photographs will remain on the walls in both locations to weather and fade with the elements. Viewers are encouraged to visit the Bronx to see the photographs pasted up at the Black Falcons Clubhouse, for a joy ride between boroughs similar to ones the clubs make frequently themselves.
This event is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). This event would not be possible without the Black Falcons MC & the Steel Horses MC- huge thanks.
TRANSPORTATION:
MTA: Take the 3 train to Rockaway Ave. Right outside the station, take the B60 bus to Rockaway/Ditmas Ave. Walk 2 blocks west.
OR, Take the C train to Rockaway Ave. Right outside the station, take the B60 bus to Rockaway/Ditmas Ave. Walk 2 blocks west.