In this illustrated talk, Chris Johnson will summarize a number of issues related to the history, creation and outcomes of the Question Bridge: Black Males project, which was recently inducted into the permanent collection of the new Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. Lecture is free to attend. April 8 at 2pm in Simons Center Room 309.

In 1996 Johnson created and produced a one-hour video piece titled Question Bridge that investigates class issues within the black community. The current version of this project: Question Bridge: Black Males was produced with artist Hank Willis Thomas and a team including Kamal Sinclair and Bayeté Ross Smith. This project opened at the Sundance Film Festival in

2012 and at the Brooklyn and Oakland Museums. Question Bridge: Black Males won the 2015 International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award and in

2016 was inducted in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2015 Aperture published Question Bridge: Black Males in America.

Among the topics Johnson will discuss in his talk will be: The origins of the Question Bridge methodology An overview of the conceptual and formal nature of the project A discussion of art as Social Practice Background of personal work as an artist Brief biographical sketches of the Question Bridge team members The evolution of the Question Bridge: Black Males transmedia project