Located in the Harrison Photography Gallery, this free exhibition runs from February through June 2025
December 18, 2024
MINNEAPOLIS—The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is proud to announce its forthcoming presentation of “The True America: Photographs by Ernest Cole,” a new exhibition organized by Aperture and curated by Leslie M. Wilson, Academic Curator and Director of Research Programs at the Art Institute of Chicago. This landmark exhibition and the accompanying Aperture publication are the first to illuminate the South African-born Cole’s photographs of communities across the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and recovers images believed to have been lost for decades. The show will be on view in Mia’s Harrison Photography Gallery from February 1 to June 22, 2025.
Following the 1967 publication of House of Bondage, his groundbreaking photobook revealing the horrors of life under apartheid, Cole fled to the United States and continued his documentary practice with the support of the Ford Foundation. Cole worked extensively in New York City, documenting the lively community of Harlem as he turned his talent to street photography across Manhattan. In 1968, Cole traveled to Chicago, Cleveland, Memphis, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, as well as rural areas of the South, capturing the mood of different Black communities in the months leading up to and just after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. While only a fraction of these images was seen during his lifetime, a cache of Cole’s American negatives—long thought lost—was rediscovered in Sweden in 2017.
“Ernest Cole’s lens captured not only moments in history but also the enduring spirit and resilience of Black communities during a period of profound change in the United States,” said Katie Luber, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director & President at Mia. “We are honored to bring this exceptional exhibition to Minneapolis, where his work will resonate deeply with our audiences and reflect our commitment to showcasing powerful narratives that help us understand our shared past.”
This exhibition offers a rare glimpse into Cole’s practice while in the United States, including striking color photographs of Black life in Harlem. Taken during a period of deep social change, these images reveal Cole’s profound perspective on hope, freedom, and the racial inequalities he encountered in his adoptive home.
“Cole’s photographs offer an essential perspective on Black communities across the U.S. at a time when the nation was grappling with civil rights and social justice,” explained Casey Riley, Chair of Global Contemporary Art and Curator of Photography and New Media at Mia. “His work provides a vivid historical record, bringing us closer to understanding the systemic challenges that persist today. Exhibiting Cole’s rare and insightful collection here at Mia invites our audiences to connect with his vision and reflect on its relevance to the present.”
Ernest Cole (born in Transvaal, South Africa, 1940; died in New York, 1990) is best known for House of Bondage, a photobook published in 1967 (reissued by Aperture 2022), that chronicled the horrors of apartheid. After fleeing South Africa in 1966, he became a “banned person,” settling in New York. He was associated with Magnum Photos and received funding from the Ford Foundation to undertake a project looking at Black communities in the United States. Cole spent extensive time in Sweden and became involved with the Tiofoto collective. In 2017, more than 50,000 of Cole’s negatives—missing for more than 40 years—resurfaced in Sweden.
Leslie M. Wilson is Associate Director for Academic Engagement and Research at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her research, teaching, and curatorial endeavors focus on the history of photography, the arts of Africa and the African diaspora, modern and contemporary American art, and museum studies. Her current and forthcoming projects include not all realisms: photography, Africa, and the long 1960s at the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, where she was a curatorial fellow from 2019 to 2021, and David Goldblatt: No ulterior motive at the Art Institute of Chicago with co-curators Matthew Witkovsky (AIC) and Judy Ditner (Yale). She has recently written for publications including DEAR DAVE, Foam Magazine, and Manual, and interviewed Larry W. Cook for Weiss Berlin. She holds a PhD in Art History from the University of Chicago and a BA in International Relations from Wellesley College.
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Organized by Aperture. Curated by Leslie M. Wilson, PhD.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, with generous support from the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Aperture
Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From its base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through its acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society. For more information, visit aperture.org.
About the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Home to more than 100,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) inspires wonder, spurs creativity, and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest art collections in the country—from all corners of the globe, and from ancient to contemporary—Mia links the past to the present, enables global conversations, and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration.
General admission to Mia is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee.
For more information, call + 1 612 870 3000 or visit new.artsmia.org.