* Featured image from article by Hugh Muir: “Barbican criticisms protesters who forced Exhibit B cancellation.” The Guardian. 24 September 2014.
French-Language Media Coverage (chronologically):
On its first tour in France (Avignon, 2013):
Thibaudaut, J.-P. “Avignon: troublants tableaux vivants avec Noirs sur fond blanc, par le Sud-Africain Brett Bailey.” Rue 89 Blog (NouvelObs). 14 July 2013.
Fassin, Éric. “La race, ça nous regarde.” La Libération. 23 July 2013.
le public d’Avignon se découvre blanc. Surtout, le regard se renverse : le spectateur n’est pas voyeur, car il est vu. Immobiles, ces hommes et ces femmes nous regardent – même le gisant. Leurs yeux nous suivent, et c’est nous qui finissons par les baisser. Avec ce dispositif, on n’est pas au zoo ; on est dans le «zoo humain».
On its second tour in France (Paris, 2014):
Cessou, Sabine. “Brett Bailey : ‘Exhibit B ne parle pas des Noirs, mais du système colonial'” Rue 89 Blog (NouvelObs). 22 November 2014.
CRAN. “Exhibit B: La position du CRAN.” November 2014. *Note that since Race on Display in 20th- and 21st-Century France’s publication, CRAN has removed its official response to “Exhibit B” (“De ‘Exhibit B’ à ‘Exhibit White'”, 24 November 2014) I cite in the book and has reorganized its webpage such that the initial article is impossible to recover, even with the help of the Wayback Machine. Echoes of this article, however, still exist on other sites, such as the one linked here.
En montrant de la sorte les victimes du racisme, des esclaves d’autrefois aux sans-papiers d’aujourd’hui en passant par les Africains dans les zoos humains, l’artiste donne l’impression que de tous temps, les Noirs n’ont jamais été que des êtres passifs, spectateurs endoloris de leur propre misère, endurant en silence, subissant sans murmure, attendant sans mot dire que le « grand blanc » vienne enfin les sortir de leur triste condition.
English-Language Media Coverage (chronologically):
Gardner, Lyn. “Edinburgh festival 2014 review: Exhibit B–Facing the appalling reality of Europe’s colonial past.” The Guardian 12 August 2014. A five-star review of the first time the piece ran in the UK.
Odulami, Stella and Kehinde Andrews. “Is art installation Exhibit B racist?” The Guardian, Opinion 27 September 2014. An opinion piece by an “Exhibit B” performer and a sociologist/activist reflecting on “Exhibit B” following the Barbican theatre in London’s decision to close down the performance following protests.
Sir Nicholas Kenyon, managing director of the Barbican’s response to the performance’s closure in London: “In Defense of ‘Exhibit B'” The New York Times Opinion Pages 28 October 2014.
Carvajal, Doreen. “On Display, and on a Hot Seat: ‘Exhibit B’, a Work About Human Zoos, Stirs Protests.” The New York Times 25 November 2014.
