Where is the Black Nan Goldin?

Shade Podcast is back. After months away, I'm returning to what we were at the beginning—intimate, unedited conversations, just me and you. This episode adapts an article I wrote in February 2024 for Shade Art Review, asking: Where is the Black Nan Goldin? Where is the documentary photography showing Black intimacy—real, unguarded, not staged, celebrated in major exhibitions or published by prominent publishers? 22 years after I viewed Nan Goldin's The Devil's Playground at Whitechapel Gallery, I explore why I haven't seen a Black photographer gain the same recognition for work depicting intimacy with the same unflinching honesty. This isn't about replicating what Goldin did. It's about wondering why Black artists working in this space haven't emerged to the foreground with the same institutional support. As Black people, we move through the world with vulnerability. Our bodies have been mistreated and misrepresented throughout history. So maybe there's a reason why not all is being revealed. This article led to an exciting collaboration I'll share more about when I can. Read the full article at Shade Art Review: Contact: lou@shadepodcast.co.uk | Instagram: @shade_podcast Shade is an independent, one-person operation. If this resonates, please share and

You can listen to Where is the Black Nan Goldin? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Where is the Black Nan Goldin? is an episode from Shade by Lou Mensah.

This episode is 8:18 long.

This episode was published on Nov 22, 2025.

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