Miranda Barnes: ‘Social Season’ [Book launch & signing]

Join Miranda Barnes for a special launch and signing at Climax Books, NYC on Wednesday 4 March from 6-8pm to celebrate the release of her new book Social Season.

Miranda Barnes is a photo-based artist born in Brooklyn, NY. Her practice borrows from vernacular photography and a fine art tradition of documenting everyday scenes of families and friends, often in communion and celebration. She has photographed across the United States, both for assignments and artistic explorations. Barnes is currently working on a long-form project examining community gatherings and subcultures with an emphasis on gender, style, and coming of age. She resides and works between Brooklyn, NY, and Austin, TX. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, T Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and The Financial Times.

Free to attend.

Wednesday 4 March 
18:00-20:00

Climax Books
56 E 4th St
New York, NY 10003
United States

About Social Season

This debut book by Brooklyn-based photographer Miranda Barnes explores the rich history of Black cotillions in the US through an immersive collection of photographs made at debutante balls in Detroit between 2022 and 2025.

Sensitive portraits of debutantes with their elders and scenes of couples practicing their steps and dancing in formation are interleaved with studies of the distinctive material world of the cotillion: opulent corsages, taffeta ball gowns, morning suits, and tiaras. The resulting sequence harks back to bygone times and dreamworlds of childhood and youth, yet is also grounded firmly and emotively in the present, as young people look with anticipation towards their future. Social Season offers a glimpse of a unique tradition and introduces an exceptional documentarian of Black communities and subcultures in today’s United States.

Can't make it? Order a copy here.