2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the sanitation workers strike that occurred during the civil rights movement in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in the midst of this strike. The slogan for this important strike was “I Am a Man.”

While in residence at Visual Studies Workshop, McFadden will be working on a new body of work surrounding the topics of home, family, social justice, and manhood. He is interested in what “I am a Man” means in 2018 in connection with contemporary relationships, social justice, and notions of manhood. He is returning home to Rochester, NY to create this new work.

I am a Man will provide people with content visually articulated for the sake of change. In McFadden’s own style, he will begin to link the past with the present so that we may envision and build a better future.

Internationally recognized artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden is originally from Rochester, NY. He attended Savannah College of Art and Design. He received first place International Photography Awards in both 2015 and 2016. Time Magazine recognized McFadden as one of “12 African American Photographers You Should Follow Right Now.”

Support for this exhibition came from the Max and Marian Farash Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, and the New York State Council on the Arts Visual Arts program.