Series Site
February 8–11, 2024
“Everything I make is just an offering. I think of my work as a contribution to the histories of the Black diasporas and our powers of invention, survival and generativity.” —Cauleen Smith
BAMPFA welcomes Los Angeles–based artist Cauleen Smith to present three programs of rarely shown short films and a screening of her seminal, recently restored feature Drylongso. Smith, one of the leading American artists of this generation, defies easy categorization. From multimedia installations to slide performances and a wide variety of films that move between genres, Smith creates nuanced portrayals of African diaspora culture and its troubled history in the United States, as well as the issues facing Black women in contemporary life, all in her distinctive voice. Unpredictable, witty, and always thought-provoking, Smith weaves “everyday possibilities of the imagination” into improvisational, jazz-inflected experiences that celebrate the freedom of creativity. Throughout her career, Smith has concentrated on short filmmaking and has created more than twenty short films since 1990. Ranging widely in style and drawing upon experimental film tradition, third world cinema, science fiction, and the music of Sun Ra and other great Black musicians, Smith’s short films are poetic experiences that subtly interweave narrative and personal and cultural themes.
—Steve Anker