Depictions of rural life in the south during the Great Depression have been predominantly focused on whiteness, a fuller picture rarely seen. In a new exhibition, the private homes and public gathering spaces of Black southerners are seen in a range of photos that provide a corrective. Images from photographers including Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Marion Post Wolcott and Walker Evans, are part of a project commissioned in 1935 but until now, only a narrow selection have been available. Crafting Sanctuaries: Black Spaces of the Great Depression South is on display at the Museum of Art + Light in Manhattan, Kansas in partnership with Art Bridges
Compiled by Briana Ellis-Gibbs
Main image: Sharecropper's child combing her hair at Southeast Missouri Farms in 1938. Photograph: Russell Lee/ Library of Congress
Wed 27 Aug 2025 17.43 CEST
First published on Wed 27 Aug 2025 11.19 CEST
