Necessary Means: Adreinne Waheed on Gathering & Power

About the Event

This fall, Howard University will present Necessary Means: Adreinne Waheed on Gathering & Power, an exhibition examining the dynamism, beauty, and political force of collective Black life across the African Diaspora through the photography of Adreinne Waheed.

Presented through a collaboration between the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University Gallery of Art, and Art Bridges, the exhibition opens October 14 at the Howard University Museum in Founders Library.

Necessary Means brings together Waheed’s documentary street photography with selections from the Waheed Photo Archive, her extensive collection of found portraits documenting African American life from the Civil War to the present. The exhibition traces the relationship between Waheed’s formative experiences at Howard University and a photographic practice centered on protest, joy, community, and collective action.

Curated by Kathryn Coney-Ali, executive director of the Howard University Gallery of Art, and Dr. Melanee C. Harvey-Fryar, associate professor of art history in the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, the exhibition takes its title from traditions of anti-colonial and Black liberation thought that call upon communities to harness the tools necessary to confront systems of oppression. Within that framework, Waheed’s camera becomes a means of documenting not only resistance, but the relationships, cultural traditions, and everyday expressions through which Black communities create and sustain power.

Opening Day Program

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

2:15 PM | Artist Talk with Adreinne Waheed
College of Fine Arts Recital Hall
3rd Floor
Howard University

4:00 PM | Exhibition Opening & Reception
Howard University Museum at Founders Library
Howard University

Join us for an afternoon with Adreinne Waheed, beginning with an artist talk exploring her photographic practice and the ideas at the heart of Necessary Means. Following the artist talk, guests are invited to the Howard University Museum at Founders Library for the opening of the exhibition and a reception.

Please note: The program takes place at two locations on Howard University’s campus. The Artist Talk begins at 2:15 PM in the College of Fine Arts Recital Hall on the third floor. The Exhibition Opening & Reception begins at 4:00 PM at the Howard University Museum at Founders Library.

Free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged.