ART GROUP
ARTGROUP @ AWCHAMBURG . ORG
a tour of the latoya ruby frazier exhibit
by Deborah Steinborn
On September 17 , a dozen AWCH members and friends ( and two husbands !) got a private tour of a unique art exhibit at the Kunstverein in Hamburg . The exhibit , Flint is Family , Act III from the American photojournalist , artist , and community activist LaToya Ruby Frazier , is the final part of a photo series that documents the infamous Flint , Michigan , water crisis .
The water crisis began in 2014 after the city ’ s drinking water was contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria . It continues to afflict residents of the American city today .
The group learned a lot from curator Nicholas Tammens . Photo by Holly Todd
Flint is Family began when Frazier traveled to Flint in 2016 , commissioned by Elle magazine to document the water crisis caused by the city ’ s infrastructure and its effects on the community . While she was sent there as a photojournalist , Frazier felt compelled to stay and do much more . So she teamed up with poet , activist , and mother Shea Cobb , who collaborated with her for the next five years . The two set out to document the stories of Flint residents and to look for ways to get safe drinking water to them . The result : an impressive series of photographs organized in three acts that follow Cobb in her fight for her family ’ s and the community ’ s health and well-being . Frazier documents the personal costs of corporate and governmental irresponsibility .
Curator Nicholas Tammens , a native of Australia , guided our tour in English . Frazier , he noted , is able through her photographs to show how industrial and governmental mismanagement of the environment has a direct and serious social impact on local communities . Flint is just one particularly egregious example .
Frazier captures the stories of Flint residents movingly , in subtle , seemingly simple shots that reveal so much more . On one side of the exhibit , there are black-and-white photos of residents struggling to carry exorbitantly priced water in big heavy bottles . These starkly contrast the color shots on a far wall . In one photo , clean , clear water flows into the mouths of children in brightly colored clothing after an atmospheric water generator is successfully launched .
In this final act , Frazier shows how she , Cobb , and a friend named Amber Hasan — three African- American women from working class backgrounds — were at the helm of bringing resources and care to a community under attack . Indeed , that Frazier was so actively involved in getting this generator up and running further blurred the lines between art , journalism , and activism . In a good way , agreed tour attendees during a discussion at the Kunstverein .
Frazier ’ s exhibit was part of Hamburg ’ s Triennale of Photography . It is now at the University of Michigan through 2022 .
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