Pratt Manhattan Gallery Highlights the Contributions of W.E.B. Du Bois
Pratt Manhattan Gallery’s Latest Exhibition: A Contemporary Conversation with W.E.B. Du Bois
Pratt Manhattan Gallery’s newest exhibition, “In Our Time: Eleven Artists + W.E.B. Du Bois,” invites art enthusiasts to explore an engaging dialogue between contemporary art and the profound legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois. Curated by Loretta Yarlow, this group show assembles works from a diverse array of prominent contemporary artists, including Derrick Adams, Carrie Mae Weems, and Theaster Gates, who respond to the pioneering sociologist’s influential contributions to civil rights, history, sociology, art, and activism.
The exhibition is the second in a series, following Yarlow’s original “Du Bois In Our Time” organized in 2013 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This institution, home to the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, hosts extensive archives that served as a foundation for this re-engagement a decade later. In a sociopolitical climate marked by significant change and continuity, “In Our Time” seeks to revisit and expand the previous iteration, drawing connections between Du Bois’s work and today’s pressing issues.
Yarlow emphasizes that the featured artists regard Du Bois not merely as a historical figure but as a pertinent, radical thinker whose insights resonate profoundly in current struggles for justice, truth, and visibility. The exhibition capitalizes on Pratt Manhattan Gallery’s central role in New York City’s contemporary art scene, showcasing works that reflect changes and continuities over the past ten years. Du Bois’s vision, thus, remains an enduring call to action.
The exhibition features diverse media including photography, painting, sculpture, video, installation, and text-based interventions, through which artists deliver a range of responses to Du Bois’s activism and intellectual explorations. Key themes addressed include racial injustice, environmental degradation, and the nuanced realms of identity, memory, and historical erasure. Each artist interprets Du Bois’s writings, data visualizations, and his advocacy for women’s suffrage and environmental preservation, offering both individual and collective insights.
The roster of 11 artists includes Angel Abreu/Studio K.O.S., Derrick Adams, Radcliffe Bailey, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Theaster Gates, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Ann Messner, Jefferson Pinder, Mickalene Thomas, and Carrie Mae Weems. Their works engage with Du Bois’s concepts of double consciousness and showcase art that speaks to modern audiences about enduring societal challenges.
“In Our Time: Eleven Artists + W.E.B. Du Bois” will be on view from September 26 to December 20, 2025. The public opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, from 6 to 8 pm.
For further information, visit pratt.edu.