In response to the alarming recent rollback of women’s rights, artist Whitney Bradshaw will present her celebrated photography series OUTCRY on BAMPFA’s massive outdoor screen. Consisting of more than one hundred images from Bradshaw’s photo series portraying women engaging in unbridled self-expression at maximum volume as an act of defiance against patriarchal oppression, this presentation marks the first time this series will be displayed in a large-scale digital format.
Since Bradshaw launched the OUTCRY project on the night of the 2018 Women’s March, the series has grown to more than four hundred photos of women from all walks of life who have chosen to take a stand against a culture that too often dismisses women’s voices. Drawing from her background in social work, the Chicago-based artist invites small groups of women who are not previously acquainted with each other into her studio for “scream sessions,” where they can express emotions—ranging from rage to sorrow to laughter—in a safe and supportive environment designed to cultivate a spirit of feminist solidarity across different life experiences. The resulting photo portraits challenge expectations around how women—and in particular, women’s anger—are portrayed in traditional portraiture and mainstream culture.
OUTCRY will appear in three 60-minute rotations each day, beginning at 8:30 AM, 12 PM, and 6 PM.
Whitney Bradshaw (American, b. 1969) is a Chicago-based artist, activist, educator, curator, and former social worker. She was the chair of the visual art conservatory at the Chicago High School for the Arts for ten years, and was an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago. Bradshaw was the curator for the renowned LaSalle Bank Photography Collection and later the Bank of America Collection. Her photographs have been widely exhibited across the United States and in Zurich.
