Liz Johnson Artur (Ghanaian–Russian, born 1964). <em>AfroRussia</em>, 2019. Digital HD film, audio, 13 minutes 45 seconds Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee, 2019.16. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2019.16_view01_SC.jpg)

Liz Johnson Artur (Ghanaian–Russian, born 1964). AfroRussia, 2019. Digital HD film, audio, 13 minutes 45 seconds Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee, 2019.16. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2019.16_view01_SC.jpg)

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AfroRussia

Liz Johnson Artur

On View: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, South (rectangular gallery), 4th floor

Liz Johnson Artur’s video AfroRussia, which she completed for her solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2019, documents the stories of Russians of African and Caribbean descent. After connecting with her Ghanaian father for the first time in 2010, the London-based artist traveled to Russia “to hear stories in Russian by Russians who look like me,” she says. Like Johnson Artur, many were born to Russian mothers and African or Caribbean fathers who studied in Eastern Europe as part of the Soviet Union’s efforts to expand its influence during the Cold War. Growing tensions between the foreign students and white Soviets resulted in violence and protests in the Soviet Union and several Eastern Bloc countries, and many of the students were given exit visas after graduating, although some had already formed relationships and had children. After meeting and filming numerous subjects, Johnson Artur says, “We all agreed that we felt Russian as well as African.”

ARTIST Liz Johnson Artur, Ghanaian–Russian, born 1964

MEDIUM Digital HD film, audio, 13 minutes 45 seconds

DATES 2019

ACCESSION NUMBER 2019.16

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Audio: Russian with English subtitles.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, South (rectangular gallery), 4th floor

CAPTION Liz Johnson Artur (Ghanaian–Russian, born 1964). AfroRussia, 2019. Digital HD film, audio, 13 minutes 45 seconds Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee, 2019.16. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2019.16_view01_SC.jpg)

EDITION Edition: 1/6

IMAGE screen capture, Timestamp: 00:29, 2019.16_view01_SC.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2020

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AfroRussia

Liz Johnson Artur

On View: Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, South (rectangular gallery), 4th floor

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