Emmy-nominated Raising Renee is about artist Beverly McIver when a promise she made to her mother – that she would take care of her mentally-disabled older sister, Renee – comes due. Directed by Oscar-nominees Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher, the film has drama, humour, and unexpected twists as it explores race, disability, the transformative power of art, and the tenacity of family bonds. Raising Renee is the third part of a trilogy about resilient families that includes their acclaimed feature documentaries So Much So Fast and Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Troublesome Creek. Raising Renee is about a unique group of women, the tenacity of family bonds and the power of art to transform experience into something beyond words.

a/perture is pleased to present this film in support of the Beverly McIver: Full Circle exhibition at SECCA, a survey of more than 50 works that demonstrate the diversity of the artist’s thematic approach to painting over 25 years – on view from December 8 – March 26, 2023.

From early self-portraits in clown makeup to more recent works featuring portraits of others and her own reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic, Full Circle illuminates the arc of McIver’s artistic career while also touching on her personal journey. Her self-portraits explore expressions of individuality, stereotypes, and ways of masking identity, while portraits of family members provide glimpses of intimate moments, in good times as well as in illness and death. The exhibition includes McIver’s portraits of other artists and notable figures, recent work resulting from a year in Rome with American Academy’s Rome Prize, and new work in which McIver explores the juxtaposition of color, pattern, and the human figure.

For more information on the exhibit click here.

Documentary, Art, Black Voices

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