Horse Day (2015) dir. Mohamed Bourouissa

In Horse Day, a dual-screen celebration of the Black horsemen of North Philadelphia, Bourouissa’s multi-format practice unites documentary observation with a community festival and subversive use of Western iconography. Initially inspired by Martha Camarillo’s photographs of the Fletcher Street Urban Riders Club, Bourouissa spent over eight months in 2014 documenting their work through video, photography and drawing. This culminated in the “Horse Day” event, a collaboration between Bourouissa, the riders and their community, with the horsemen demonstrating their skill while wearing costumes created by local artists. Some of these were included alongside the installation version of Horse Day in Bourouissa’s 2017 “Urban Riders” show at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, his U.S. solo debut.