Overview

Exhibitions

Books

Joshua Rashaad McFadden:

I Believe I'll Run On

Published: Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022, Yale University Press

Contributions by Ward LaCharles, Joshua Rashaad McFadden and Lyle Ashton Harris

304 Pages, 9.62 x 11.70 in, 216 color + 22 b-w illus.

Hardcover, 9780300264265

A comprehensive survey of the photography of rising and influential Black artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden

American artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden (b. 1990) makes photographs that explore and celebrate Black life in the United States. Published in conjunction with his first solo museum exhibition, Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On demonstrates his mastery of a wide range of photographic genres—social documentary, reportage, portraiture, and fine art—and his use of the medium to confront racism and anti-Black violence. Like Black photographers before him, such as Gordon Parks, Roy DeCarava, Carrie Mae Weems, Dawoud Bey, and LaToya Ruby Frazier, McFadden documents the beauty of Black life and illuminates the specificity of Black living in our historical present, including a series of impactful photographs devoted to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Along with a candid conversation between McFadden and artist Lyle Ashton Harris and an essay that traces McFadden’s meteoric career, this catalogue offers an overview of and insight into a poignant and deeply personal body of work, asserting McFadden’s key role in shaping the art and visual culture of the United States.


Published in association with the George Eastman Museum

Projects

Awards & Grants

2023

Lucie Photo Book Prize, Traditional Category, Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I'll Run On

2023

International Photography Award (IPA Awards), Official Selection / Book-Documentary / Jury Top 5 Selection

2023

Magnum Foundation, Health Equity Grant

2021

For Freedoms + National Geographic, Grant 

2020

National Geographic Emergency Fund, Grant

2020

Joy of Giving Something Fellowship for Photography, New York Foundation for the Arts, Grant

2020

International Photography Award (IPA Awards), 1st Place: Editorial / Press-Contemporary issues / Jury Top 5 Selection

Selected Publications, Reviews, & Media Appearances

Front Page Tear Sheets

Selected Publications, Professional Writings

The following includes essays I have written, journalistic stories I have reported on, and photo essays.

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020). Evidence (Vol. 1). Rochester, New York: VSW Press.

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020, July 27). "America, again": Chapter 5: American myths. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://viiphoto.medium.com/america-again-chapter-5-american-myths-6cb3c402af35

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020, December). ‘I Can’t Breathe’: A Year of Unrest in America Through the Lens of Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Art Review, 72(8), 109-113. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://artreview.com/i-cant-breathe-photographs-of-unrest-in-america-joshua-rashaad-mcf adden/

2020

Finley, C., Weems, C. M., Williams, D. L., McFadden, J. R., & Simmons, X. (2020). The Story of African American Photographs. IMA: Living With Photography, 33, 139-160.

2020

Herndon, A. W., Freeman, D., Justice, L., & McFadden, J. R. (2020, June 20). On Juneteenth, Tulsa Pairs Joy With Defiance. The New York Times, p. A1.

2020

Fernandez, M., Burch, A., & McFadden, J. R. (2020, June 9). Man of Outsize Dreams Stirred a Movement With Final Breaths. The New York Times, pp. A1-A17.

2020

Searcey, D., & McFadden, J. R. (2020, June 5). AT FLOYD SERVICE, A CRY OF PAIN: ‘GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS’. The New York Times, p. A1.

2020

Searcey, D., McFadden, J. R., Schukar, A., Barrayn, L. A., Blue, V. J., & Agtmael, P. V. (2020, June 4). At George Floyd Memorial, an Anguished Call for Change. The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/floyd-memorial-funeral.html

2020

Searcey, D., McFadden, J. R., Schukar, A., Barrayn, L. A., Blue, V. J., & Agtmael, P. V. (2020, June 4). At George Floyd Memorial, an Anguished Call for Change. The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/floyd-memorial-funeral.html

2020

Searcey, D., McFadden, J. R., Schukar, A., Barrayn, L. A., Blue, V. J., & Agtmael, P. V. (2020, June 4). At George Floyd Memorial, an Anguished Call for Change. The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/floyd-memorial-funeral.html

2020

2020: The year in pictures. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/graphics/2020-the-year-in-pictures-feature

2020

The elderly trapped IN BRONXWOOD. (2020, November 30). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://newrepublic.com/article/160304/covid-elderly-new-york-bronxwood-assisted-living- outbreak

2020

The fall of jeff sessions, and what came after. (2020, June 30). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/magazine/jeff-sessions.html

2021

From civil rights to black lives matter. (2021, February 03). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/from-civil-rights-to-black-lives-matter1/

2021

I was a low-income college student. classes weren't the hard part. (2019, September 10). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-inequality.html

2020

Inside the us Protests: Pictures of a nation in turmoil. (2020, June 04). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.ft.com/content/787388d0-38ac-4fff-9249-49e5c7457804

2021

March on Washington: 'A fractured and TRAUMATIZED nation' marches on. (2021, February 10). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/fractured-traumatized-nation-marches- washington-57-years-later

2021

The new southern strategy. (2020, September 04). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/10/black-mayors-southern-cities/6154 69/

2021

New transcripts Detail last moments for George Floyd. (2020, July 08). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/us/george-floyd-body-camera-transcripts.html

2021

Steven Mnuchin's Deal staved Off Catastrophe. can he make another one? (2020, September 29). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/magazine/mnuchin-cares-act-stimulus.html

2020

They came to say goodbye to RAYSHARD Brooks: 'this is a moment. This is a big deal'. (2020, June 23). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/us/gallery/rayshard-brooks-funeral-portraits-cnnphotos/in dex.html

2021

Voices from the Commitment march ON Washington: 'WE'VE come a long way, but our journey is Not over'. (2021, February 10). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/commitment-march-washington-come-l ong-way-journey-not-over

2021

Voters say black lives matter protests were important. they disagree on why. (2020, November 07). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/us/black-lives-matter-protests.html

2021

"We don't even know who is dead or alive": Trapped inside an assisted living facility during the pandemic. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-even-know-who-is-dead-or-alive-trapped-inside-an-assisted-living-facility-during-the-pandemic

2020

Why Minneapolis was the breaking point. (2020, June 15). Retrieved February 19, 2021, from

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/wesley-lowery-george-floyd-minneapo lis-black-lives/612391/

2020

McCarty, L. (2020). Creating change from within: Building and discovering a diverse archive of documentary arts. Photography and Culture, 13(3-4), 357-368. doi:10.1080/17514517.2020.1776583

2019

(2019, August 23). Black artist series: Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Andscape. https://theundefeated.com/features/black-artist-series-joshua-rashaad-mcfadden/

Lectures, Presentations, Panels

2024

McFadden, J. R. (2024, March). I Believe I’ll Run On. Lecture, St. Louis, Missouri; Society for Photographic Education, 2024 SPE Annual Conference: New Realities.

2024

McFadden, J. R. (2024, February). “Pressing On to Higher Ground: The Fight of Black Transgender Activists to ‘Simply Be.’” Abolish THIS! Queer and Trans* Voices of Abolition. Chicago; College Art Association of America, CAA 112th Annual Conference.

2023

McFadden, J. R. (2023, September). Trials Dark on Every Hand: Perpetual Black Grief and Injustice. Lecture and Workshop Series. Rochester, New York; University of Rochester.

2023

McFadden, J. R., Osman, A., Ogbara, L. A., Harris, E. S., & Barber, T. (2023, September). Black Visual Culture|Black Visual Life: Artists in Conversation. By Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies. Rochester, NY; Memorial Art Gallery, Main Auditorium, University of Rochester.

2023

McFadden, J. R. (2023, February). Evidence. Visiting Artist for Taryn Simon: A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters. Providence, RI; Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

2023

McFadden, J. R. (2023, February). Art Talk: Photographer Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On. Shepherdstown, West Virginia; Shepherd University.

2023

McFadden, J. R. (2023, January). Evidence: The United States. National Geographic Storytellers Summit: Works in Progress. Washington, D.C.; National Geographic.

2023

McFadden, J. R. (2023). IN THIS MOMENT 2: Revolution Reckoning Reparation. Panel Discussion . Rochester, NY; Visual Studies Workshop.

2023

McFadden, J. R., & Gonzalez, A. (2023, February). Visualizing Equality: Photography, Visual Culture and the Black Freedom Struggle. Department of History, the Dean’s Office of the College of Liberal Arts at RIT. Rochester, NY; Rochester Institute of Technology.

2022

McFadden, J. R., Sealy, M., & Overby, K. (2022, March). Conversations on Race, Rights and Representation. VISUAL ARTS, CULTURE, AND MEDIA LECTURE SERIES, Panel Discussion . Rochester, New York; Rochester Institute of Technology.

2022

McFadden, J. (2022). Unrest in America. The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), 2022 National Conference: Exploring Artistic Research. Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan.

2022

McFadden, J. R., & Harris, L. A. (2022, November). Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On - a book talk & conversation with McFadden & Lyle A. Harris. The Black Rest Project, NYU Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture. New York, NY; New York University.

2022

McFadden, J. R., Shaw, T., & Jenkins, K. (2022). In Conversation: Joshua Rashaad McFadden’s Evidence. Panel Discussion. Rochester, NY; George Eastman Museum.

2022

McFadden, J. R., & Harris, L. A. (2022, April). In Conversation: Joshua Rashaad McFadden and Lyle Ashton Harris. Rochester, NY; George Eastman Museum.

2022

McFadden, J. R., Barrayn, L. A., Allen, D., & Watkins, R. B. (2022, April). Photography and Social Justice. Panel Discussion. Rochester, NY; George Eastman Museum, Online Programming.

2022

McFadden, J. R., Kaimana, K., Vann-Jones, J., & Richardson, J. (2022, June). The Sonic Life of Photography. Panel Discussion. Rochester, NY; George Eastman Museum.

2022

McFadden, J., & Willman, M. (2022, April). Cultural Lens—Experiences and images from documenting extraordinary moments across the United States and South Africa. Lecture, Rochester, NY; Rochester Institute of Technology .

2022

McFadden, J. (2022, March). Social Protest Photography, Public History, and Racial Justice: From the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. Organization of American Historians Conference on American History. Boston, MA.

2022

McFadden, J. R., & Harris, L. A. (2022, November). The Black Rest Project presents Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run On – a book talk and conversation with artists Joshua Rashaad McFadden and Lyle Ashton Harris. Center for Black Visual Culture’s initiative. New York, NY; New York University.

2022

McFadden, J. (2022, November). NOSSA EXISTENCIA E UM PROTESTO: Uma conversa com Joshua Rashaad McFadden . (OUR EXISTENCE IS A PROTEST: A conversation with Joshua Rashaad McFadden). Salvador, Bahia; Zumví Arquivo Fotográfico.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021, May). “I Can’t Breathe”: A year of unrest through the lens of Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Rochester City School District, and My Brothers Keeper. Rochester, New York; RCSD.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021, March). A Journey to Selfhood," a virtual conversation with artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Lecture, Atlanta, GA; The Lovett School.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021). Joshua Rashaad McFadden. ICP Talks: Joshua Rashaad McFadden. New York, New York; The International Center of Photography.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021). Guest Faculty Lecture: John Hitchcock and Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Guest Faculty Lecture: Snowmass Village, CO; Anderson Ranch.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021, January). A Moment in a Movement. RIT’s Let Freedom Ring celebration. Rochester, New York; Rochester Institute of Technology.

2021

McFadden, J. R. (2021, April 12). Evidence: Collecting and Re-Situating Testimonies of Black Seflhood. Lecture pre- sented at Imagining Legacy: Archives, Collections, and Memoria in Society for Photographic Edu- cation. - Proposed abstract in Fall 2020

2020

McFadden, J. R., Edwards, K., Brown, T., Franklin, A., Overby, K., & Ntheketha, J. (2020, October). Reporting While Black. RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the RIT journalism program, Panel Discussion . Rochester, NY; Rochester Institute of Technology.

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020, November 6). Conversation with Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Lecture presented at Columbia University in New York, New York.

2020

McFadden, J. R., & Harris, L. A. (2020, October 16). Let’s Talk: Artists of Color Series - Lyle Ashton Harris in conver- sation with Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Lecture presented at New York University in New York, Rochester.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zctCaieXOY&feature=emb_logo

2020

McFadden, J. (2020, October 14). ACP Lecture Series: Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Speech presented at Atlanta Celebrates Photography and Emory University in Georgia, Atlanta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbCVlVmR2Ao&t=2s

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020, April 16). Come to Selfhood and Evidence. Lecture presented at Thinker Thursday at Ander- son Ranch in Colorado, Snowmass Village.

2020

McFadden, J. R., & Hostetler, L. (2020, July 10). Deconstructing Iconic Images: A Conversation with Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Lecture presented at The George Eastman Museum in New York, Rochester.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGcQn8A43i8&t=3692s

2020

McFadden, J. R. (2020, February 28). Evidence: Joshua Rashaad McFadden. Lecture presented at Lecture at Uni- versité des Antilles, Martinique.

2020

McFadden, J. R., Barrayn, L. A., Brooks, D., Lewis, B., May, C., McCoy, M. A., & Weatherspoon, L. (2020, June 26). Documenting a National Reckoning on Race and Justice. Lecture presented at Focus on The Story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e18VPuUp5HU&feature=emb_title

2020

McFadden, J. R., Ramsess, A., Lewis, B., & Wong, M. (2020, June 24). CNN Newsroom Panel about Documenting Unrest. Lecture presented at CNN in Georgia, Atlanta.

2019

McFadden, J. R. (2019, November 19). Evidence: Re-thinking Identity and African American Males. Speech present- ed at Liberty Hill Breakfast Series at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, Rochester.