For the first time in the UK, Stephen Shames’ photography documenting the Black Panther Party is on exhibition.
Running now through early July at Amar Gallery in Fitzrovia, Black Panthers & Revolution: the Art of Stephen Shames displays dozens of photos of demonstrations, protests and militant armed posturing of the Oakland, California civil rights organisation alongside behind-the-scenes shots of its key players, allies and supporters. Images of Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Maya Angelou, Angela Davis,Martin Luther King Jr, and other civil rights leaders of the late 60s and early 70s mix with those of attendees and onlookers of Black Panther events.
Attending the exhibition’s opening earlier this week, I found Black Panthers & Revolution, to offer contrasting and complementing moods, for an impactful viewing of well executed photo reportage. Much of the works yield an emotive “in the room where it happened” feeling. Other photographs have a more “oh, what’s this?” vibe of happening upon a memorable moment and being adept enough and lucky enough to take the right shot to memorialise it. All the photography suggests a watchful eye and candid approach – whether that’s a studied portrait of Angela Davis or a from the hip snapshot of a gleeful child attending a rally.
From 1967 to 1973, while a student at University of California Berkeley, Shames captured the public face and private moments of the Black Panthers with his camera. Black Panthers & Revolution offers a chance to observe the era simultaneously as a participant on the front lines, a viewer amid a crowd of supporters, and a fly on the wall in backrooms meetings.
For folks familiar the story of the Black Panthers, the show should reinvigorate the passions of the movement and the era. For those less familiar, Shames’ photography provides a poignant and engaging starting point.
Black Panthers & Revolution: the Art of Stephen Shames runs from 28 May to 6 July 2025 at Amar Gallery, 12, 14 Whitfield Street, W1T 2R. Find out more at amargallery.com.
