_An Edhat Reader
1967 → 2024: Capturing and Recapturing a Day in the Life of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Partnership with the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative & the MLK Santa Barbara Committee
Photo Exhibit: January 22 – February 4, 2024
Location: Community Arts Workshop: 631 Garden Street, Santa Barbara CA
Opening Tuesday, January 23 through February 4, 2024
The Story:
On April 15, 1967, photojournalist Santi Visalli was given an assignment to photograph Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr as he gave an anti-Vietnam War speech outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Over 125,000 people packed the streets as the UN General Assembly commenced their meeting inside. Santi took about 10 rolls of film for his employer in Milan, Italy, and as was common at the time, he immediately went to the airport and handed the film to a passenger who served as a courier and delivered the film for publication. Three weeks later, Santi requested his employer to return the negatives only to find out that they have been misplaced.
Santi would inquire about these lost images to no avail over the course of half a century – until one day three years ago, he received a phone call from a woman responsible for the photographic archives purchased by Banca Intesa that included these images. Now 92-years old, Santi Visalli described seeing these photos for the first time after 56 years like “finding his long-lost children” and exclaims, “Hurray! In life, one should never despair; there is always hope.” While much of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life work focusing on civil rights is well known, Santi hopes these images will also promote, acknowledge, and celebrate MLK’s advocacy for peace.
The Exhibit:
In celebration of the MLK National Holiday and Black History Month, and in partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Santa Barbara Committee, a curated selection of Mr. Visalli’s photos from the April 15, 1967 United Nations Anti-War Rally will be on display at the Community Arts Workshop’s small gallery room. The photographs themselves tell the story of that day, and the accompanied written descriptions, archival news articles, and video commentary with the artist will connect the journey of the artwork as it was lost and found again. The exhibit will include a public reception and invitation to other community organizations who may wish to visit the exhibit as an educational opportunity about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative is serving as the fiscal sponsor towards this project. All donations underwriting this project should be made out to SBAC and are tax-deductible.
The Artist:
Santi Visalli is a highly prolific photojournalist and fine art photographer who has covered the news from social issues to politics to lifestyles. His files contain more than 200,000 photographs of well-known personalities of the last five decades, plus spectacular scenics and cityscapes. Visalli’s photos appeared in and on the covers of more than 50 magazines and newspapers worldwide, including the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Life, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, American Heritage, Paris Match, Stern (in Germany), Oggi, Epoca, and L’Europeo (in Italy), and other international magazines in Sweden, South Africa, Australia, Israel, and Japan.
Expanding to a more permanent form of photojournalistic expression—coffee-table books— Visalli created eleven full-color portraits of major American cities, published by Rizzoli International Publishing in New York.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art curated the Santi Visalli at 90: Una Storia exhibit in 2021, and five of his photographs are in their permanent collection. Santi and his wife Gayla live in Santa Barbara, California.
The Community Experience:
In addition to the public reception with the Artist, the SB Arts Collaborative and the MLK Santa Barbara Committee welcome community and educational institutions to incorporate this exhibit in their programming. We encourage connecting Dr. King’s anti-war message with lectures, school trips, poetry readings or other public events.
CAW is open to the public on Fridays from 1 – 6pm.
Meet the Curator Helene Schneider on Sat. Jan 27 open from 11a – 2p.
For more information and to make an appointment to see the exhibit, please contact: Helene Schneider, Curator helenedschneider@gmail.com or Call: 805-453-8550.
