In Conversation: Deborah Roberts and Mara Brock Akil
To mark Deborah Roberts' first institutional solo show in New York, Consequences of being, the artist will be in conversation with television writer and film producer Mara Brock Akil.
Roberts' use of collage reflects the challenges encountered by young Black children as they strive to build their identity, particularly as they respond to preconceived social constructs perpetuated by the Black community, the white gaze and visual culture at large. Combining a range of different facial features, skin tones, hairstyles and clothes, Roberts explains that “with collage, I can create a more expansive and inclusive view of the Black cultural experience. ”
Brock Akil has written and produced over 400 episodes of television, leaving her mark on Hollywood. She has received Essence Magazine’s Visionary Award and the prestigious Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award by NATPE, and has been named in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter’s Showrunner Power Lists, as well as The Hollywood Reporter’s "Women in Entertainment Power100" multiple times. In 2020, Brock Akil entered into a deal with Netflix to exclusively produce television shows for the streaming platform under her new banner, story27 Productions.
RSVP here.
