Public Art Fund Talks: On the Flip Side

This public talk explores On the Flip Side, a citywide exhibition that transforms JCDecaux bus shelters across New York City, Chicago, and Boston into sites for intimate photographic encounters. In this event, each of the artists will reflect on what it means for deeply personal images—rooted in family, heritage, gender identity, material value, and aspiration—to appear in spaces typically reserved for advertising, and how public circulation reshapes their meaning.

Moderated by Assistant Curator Jenée-Daria Strand, the talk centers on the practices of Kennedi Carter, Lougè Delcy, Camila Falquez, Ruby Okoro, Dana Scruggs, and Juan Veloz—artists whose commercial work defines our contemporary moment, capturing celebrities for global platforms. Meanwhile, their fine art practices–often seen in museums and galleries–foreground tenderness and interiority, with ties to contemporary and historic cultural narratives. The discussion will examine how these photographers navigate the boundary between commercial and fine art production, and how On the Flip Side “flips” expectations by foregrounding their personal visions within the cityscape of New York, Boston and Chicago.

Attend in person at The Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium. Registration is required, and capacity is limited. Seating is first come, first served so please arrive early. Your registration does not guarantee a seat. Doors will close at 6:45pm.

Accessibility: Email Gabriela López Dena, Associate Curator of Public Practice, at [email protected] with questions and requests for accessibility. Please send any needs for services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, including ASL interpretations, hearing aids, and simultaneous translation, by February 6.

Kennedi Carter’s work highlights the aesthetics and sociopolitical aspects of Black life as well as the overlooked beauties of the Black experience: skin, texture, peace, love and community. Her work aims to reinvent notions of creativity and confidence in the realm of Blackness. Carter has worked with leading publications and global brands, including British Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Essence, Google, and Apple. In 2020, Carter was tapped by British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful to photograph Beyoncé for the magazine’s cover; she became the youngest cover photographer in the publication’s history. Her fine art has been acquired by the Rhode Island School of Design; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Wilson Centre for Photography, London, among others.

Lougè Delcy is a well-traveled artist who experiences life through a creative lens, documenting Africa and its diaspora in the most beautiful light. His work is a celebration of culture, resilience, and global connection. His imagery is instantly recognizable for its rich color, saturated tones, and sense of movement, shaped by his Haitian heritage and his upbringing in Brooklyn. Delcy has worked with National Geographic, Christian Louboutin, Bermuda, New Balance, and Ebony, among others. His fine art has been exhibited at the Anacostia Community Museum, Washington, D.C. and the International African American Museum, Charleston, South Carolina, among others.

Camila Falquez is a Colombian artist who was born in Mexico City and grew up in Spain. Her photographs harness the traditions of fashion and portrait photography and honor the contemporary spectrum of social and gender diversity. Channeling the conventions of Surrealism with a strong color palette, Falquez elevates and empowers her subjects. Falquez’s photographs are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Dean Collection; The Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey; and the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida.

Ruby Okoro is a self-taught Nigerian artist who expresses his thoughts and subconscious through conceptual and vibrant photographic images. Exploring themes of self-expression, identity, the human journey, and personal relationships, he views photography as a tool for storytelling. Okoro has captured images of the biggest music celebrities from the African continent, who are now known worldwide, including Asake, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Adekunle Gold, and many others. Okoro’s work has been exhibited at Fotografiska Shanghai; PhotoVogue Festival; and Galerie Gomis, Paris, France among others. His work is featured in the 2022 publication In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun.

Dana Scruggs’ work focuses on movement, abstraction and evoking emotion from the bodily form. Her unique vision has been utilized by many brands and publications globally, including Rolling Stone, TIME, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Her fine art prints have been acquired by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The National Museum of African American History and Culture at The Smithsonian. Her work has toured globally with the exhibition The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion and Fotografiska.

Juan Veloz taught himself photography, first capturing his neighborhood and emerging models. His work, deeply rooted in his Latino heritage, blends honesty and cultural identity, earning him collaborations with Vogue, Dior, Netflix, and Nike. Veloz’s ability to capture people authentically reverberates through his images, having captured celebrities such as Sza, Usher, and Gabrielle Union, among many others.

Public Art Fund Talks, organized in collaboration with The Cooper Union, connect compelling contemporary artists to a broad public by establishing a dialogue about artistic practices and public art. The Talks series features internationally renowned artists who offer insights into artmaking and its personal, social, and cultural contexts. The core values of creative expression and democratic access to culture and learning shared by both Public Art Fund and The Cooper Union are embodied in this ongoing collaboration. In the spirit of accessibility to the broadest and most diverse public, the Talks are offered free of charge.