In images sacred and profane from Venice to Lisbon, Black Africans were largely marginalized in Renaissance imagery. Represented typically as bystanders, nurses, entertainers, and servants in crowded banquet halls, the international conference Hidden in Plain Sight: Black African Lives and Visual Histories in the Early Modern World is conceived with these inescapable truths firmly in mind.

The penultimate event to this project’s conclusion is the launch of the Black Rest Podcast this Spring. Pairing artists, scholars, and activists, the Black Rest Podcast will span 9 episodes, expanding upon a 3 year long investigation into the power and practice of rest for global Black people.