La Tanya S. Autry (she/her)
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artstuffmatters.bsky.social
La Tanya S. Autry (she/her)
@artstuffmatters.bsky.social
1.9K followers 430 following 890 posts
Cultural worker/curator/art historian
https://latanyasautry.net/
#MuseumsAreNotNeutral http://alturl.com/ajzd5
Social Justice & Museums http://bit.ly/2UG1aUD
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artstuffmatters.bsky.social
movement generated art "Let Art Be Training in the Practice of Freedom" by Kyle Goen (IG @ kyledidthis)

𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮

✨
poster, by artist Kyle Goen, in open flat file drawer, white paper with all caps centered black lettering "LET ART BE TRAINING IN THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM"
October 12, 2025 at 9:15 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
"We were never articulating that stuff as artwork. It was other people who were doing that . . . we were only concerned about making a dent in the AIDS crisis . . . We were making propaganda."
—Marlene McCarty, Gran Fury member

Gran Fury, Kissing Doesn't Kill, 1989, poster, offset lithography
Gran Fury, Kissing Doesn't Kill, 1989, poster, offset lithography banner/landscape format poster featuring 3 couples of various races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities kissing, text along top edge in all caps: "KILLING DOESN'T KILL: GREED AND INDIFFERENCE DO." text along lower edge in all caps: "CORPORATE GREED, GOVERNMENT INACTION, AND PUBLIC INDIFFERENCE MAKES AIDS A POLITICAL CRISIS."
September 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
enjoyed a beautiful & restorative evening honoring the 25th anniversary of Dr. Deborah Willis' foundational photography text Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present.
many good souls turned out for the opening of her new exhibition
Reflections in Black: A Reframing
scholar, curator, photographer Deborah Willis signs a copy of her book Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present. Reflections in Black: A Reframing exhibition opening, Cooper Square Gallery, NYU woman stands near exhibition wall text at Reflections in Black: A Reframing exhibition opening, Cooper Square Gallery, NYU Reflections in Black: A Reframing exhibition opening, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU crowd at Reflections in Black: A Reframing exhibition opening, Cooper Square Gallery, NYU
September 5, 2025 at 1:25 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
American Gestapo

mid 20th Century
black and white photograph- in 1963 white police officers with German Shepard dog attacking Black demonstrators in Birmingham Alabama
August 16, 2025 at 5:32 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
Faith Ringgold, “We Came to America: The American Collection # 1,” 1997. Acrylic on canvas with painted and pieced fabric.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
narrative quilt in bright colors - figure of a Black Statue of Liberty holding a small Black child in her left arm. in the red and blue water surrounding them, there are scores of Black people in distress, arms flailing, calling in distress to the Statue of Liberty for help. in the distance the sun is setting and a ship is on fire. smoke from the Statue of Liberty's torch arches upward and around the setting sun, and forms into clouds around the ship
July 19, 2025 at 12:37 AM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
parent holding child while looking at art in exhibition
May 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
groups of people in lobby in conversation
May 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
exhibition title wall, 100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity
May 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
we out here! celebrating the Schomburg Center's, @schomburgcenter, 100th! surviving and flourishing.
our Centennial party continues throughout 2025 and 2026. join us!
✨🙌🏿🖤
doors to Schomburg Center with signs, "Schomburg" and "Centennial"
May 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
corporate news as "independent"
screenshot of New York Times webpage -- headline partially exposed "Why OPEC Plus Is Increasing Oil..." headline interrupted by ad stating: "Resubscibe to support independent journalism." with my hand-drawn red underlining under "independent" and NYT masthead; and red question mark near the word "independent"
May 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
checked out a copy of The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema, and Power by Amy Sall, 2024

I'm excited to learn more about photographers from the continent. they were mostly excluded from my institutionalized studies. so I'm always happy to encounter their work in books, exhibitions, etc.
book placed on metal bench, Amy Sall, The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema, and Power, published 2024 close-up of pages of the opened book, 2 black and white portrait photographs of women visible on left page, right page: text featuring essay on Felicia Abban close-up of pages of the opened book, table of contents (features list of photographers) close-up of pages of the opened book, table of contents (features list of filmmakers)
April 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask, a brilliant and fierce leader. 

We seriously need more cultural work that speaks to the roots of issues, of existence, especially in these troubling days.
We need more real radical cultural work that fosters community, coalition-building, empowerment, respect.
February 26, 2025 at 9:06 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
I especially love photos of Dr. King surrounded by people. This 1957 photo by Moneta Sleet features him in conversation with people who traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom demonstration he co-organized, published in Ebony.
black and white photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in conversation with people - several women, man, small girl - while walking on the sidewalk
January 20, 2025 at 6:03 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
one of several stunning images by Bermudian photojournalist Richard Saunders. I learned of him after arriving at the Schomburg Center, which has a strong collection of his work.
"Palestinian National Dress, April 1970"
sharing the beauty with you.

stop the genocides, ceasefire
snapshot of grayscale photo, at left- Palestinian woman in traditional dress, stone wall/fence behind her, other side of stone wall/fence at right- man in traditional dress, in distant background- mountains; photo placed on open manila folder titled Palestinian National Dress, April 1970, Richard Saunders
January 26, 2024 at 1:53 AM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
TODAY - 1/19/24

At 1 pm I'll speak briefly (4 min lightning presentation) at the virtual book launch for Critical Memory Studies: New Approaches, published 2023. I'll share some insights about my essay "Critical Black Memory as Curatorial Praxis and Collective Care."
Event Launch Meeting - Zoom
[announcement] Book Launch Critical Memory Studies: New Approaches Edited by Brett Ashley Kaplan Bloomsbury 12 pm US Central Time, January 19th, 2024 Zoom link Please join us for an online book launch of Critical Memory Studies! Several contributors will present lightning talks about their contributions to the volume. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
January 19, 2024 at 5:13 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
I love this.
tweet byAchmat X @ AchmstX in white lettering on black background, superimposed on yellow background "I don’t think y’all grasp what is happening in South Africa. Black people that survived apartheid went on to become judges and lawyers and are now defending Palestinians against the country that sent South Africa weapons during apartheid!"
January 7, 2024 at 4:17 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
December 23rd, NYC
snapshot of protest sign in red and white taped on mailbox, background- street traffic, buildings No Xmas as Usual in a Genocide Rally and March Dec 23 - 1 pm 5th & 59th Street, NYC snapshot of protest sign in black and white against wood floor, background- street traffic, buildings No Xmas as Usual in a Genocide Rally and March Dec 23 - 1 pm 5th & 59th Street, NYC
December 22, 2023 at 7:12 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
Walking around NYC, I love appreciating various forms of street art and protest visual culture.
I've noticed that in areas where the neighborhoods are predominately folks of the global majority the visual culture is decidely pro-Palestine.
The people know.

as seen in Brooklyn
photo of brown tile wall with graffiti in pink lettering #Free Palestine"
November 17, 2023 at 3:51 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
(late on the sky)
my news: so happy to be working at the Schomburg, y'all! it's an honor to contribute to this institution's rich history.
as Specialist III (reference librarian) in the Photographs and Print Division, I'm excited to welcome folks interested in Black life & visual culture.
snapshot photo of building facade, signage "Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture", tree branches along top edge
October 1, 2023 at 5:17 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
parked my bicycle and paused the audiobook (Saidiya Hartman's Scenes of Subjection) to admire the beautiful dahlias.
foreground bright pink dahlia flower - multi-rolled petal flower in spherical shaped head, surrounded by background of many pink and orange dahlias and green foliage, hint of clear blue sky at top
September 4, 2023 at 11:21 PM
artstuffmatters.bsky.social
earlier today
photo of bright pink hydrangeas, caption at lower left in white lettering on pink background: last of the hydrangeas
August 29, 2023 at 9:53 PM