The Marilyn Nance exhibition at Roberts Projects beautifully demonstrates the phenomenon known as six degrees of separation—the idea that all people are six or fewer connections away from each other. Nance was 21 when she was chosen to be the United States’ official photographer of the historic Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC’77), an event modeled after the Olympics in breadth and scope. She spent one month in the summer of 1977 documenting the events of the festival, represented by more than 17,000 artists, writers, musicians, scholars, and activists from 55 countries across Africa Betye Saar was also invited to participate in this momentous event, and the two artists were more than likely there at the same time, and though they did not meet until years later, their work shares many of the same dynamic connections. This recent exhibition at Roberts Projects allows reflection on the broader ramifications of the festival itself, but also, and perhaps more importantly, creates vital visual associations between these two extraordinary women and their collective memories and visions of the black experience during a time of intense social and political revolution.

The exhibition at Roberts Projects presents objects and photographs in large vitrines and is expertly curated to paint a picture not only of Nance’s vibrant photographic sensibilities but also of the tumultuous and extraordinary time in which these images were made. We see here photographs of friends and fellow artists celebrating their identities and variegated cultural diaspora, sharing ideas in a significant cultural moment in black history. These 1500 images now serve as cultural referents of a collective dream to bring together African peoples from all over the world to share and create together through live performances, music, literary events, concerts, and colloquiums. What makes this exhibition so successful and moving has less to do with the breadth of the actual event and more to do with the intimate nature of how these works are presented.

There is an offhanded, deeply personal quality to the curation of these works that adds to their collective meaning. For example, as viewers, we are given access to postcards, ephemera, and personal letters written by Nance and friends that further elucidates the extraordinary relationships between the people who participated in this event, and the lasting effect it had culturally. With humor, sensitivity, and candor, these letters and postcards paint a picture of tenacity and resilience not only regarding Nance’s own works, but to those whose talents touched her life and helped to shape this remarkable and unprecedented event. Saar was among those present and the juxtaposition of Nance’s imagery with Saar’s sculptures which are on view in the next gallery, help to solidify a significant and profoundly important moment in the cultural history of the African diaspora.