BEHIND THE PAGE: IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTHUR JAFA AND JUSTEN LEROY

Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960) is an artist, filmmaker and cinematographer. Across three decades, Jafa has developed a dynamic practice comprising films, artifacts and happenings that reference and question the universal and specific articulations of black being. Underscoring the many facets of Jafa’s practice is a recurring question: how can visual media, such as objects, static and moving images, transmit the equivalent power, beauty and alienation embedded within forms of black music in US culture?

贾斯汀·勒罗伊 (American, b. 1994), a multidisciplinary artist and curator from Los Angeles, explores the intersections of sound, spirituality, and geology in his music, film, and performance work. His practice investigates how these traditions connect with broader cultural and environmental themes. In 2022, LeRoy debuted his first solo exhibition, right here at Art + Practice, 让我在赞美中躺下, a three-channel film and sound installation that examines the current climate crisis.

In 2023, he premiered X’ene’s Witness at the Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles—a genre-blending opera that combines classical music, electronic sound, and choreography to provoke dialogue around climate change.

In 2020, LeRoy’s work was featured in the Hammer Museum’s Made in LA 2020 biennial. In 2022, he co-curated the exhibition, Noah Davis, at the very beloved Underground Museum. Currently, LeRoy serves as the Director of Public Programs and Community Outreach at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA).