Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture
Curator theo tyson. | Photo by Frances Neyra Claudio
Appointments
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) appointed theo tyson (above) Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts. She previously served as the Polly Thayer Starr Fellow in American Art and Culture at the Boston Athenæum. Tyson’s background includes 20 years in the fashion industry before transitioning to her curatorial practice. In Atlanta, she held positions as project manager at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art and stylist and researcher at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. Her forthcoming projects include co-curating an exhibition of South African visual artist Zanele Muholi at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and serving as advising scholar for “Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love” at the Peabody Essex Museum (2022). Tyson earned a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. On Nov. 1, she officially joins MFA where she will be responsible for building the museum’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century fashion, organizing exhibitions and programming, and leading the Fashion Council, a group dedicated to supporting the museum’s fashion arts program.
The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) promoted Nichole N. Bridges (right) to Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas in May. Bridges joined SLAM in 2013 as associate curator in the department. Previously, she was associate curator at the Newark Museum and head of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
IMAGE: Above right, Nichole N. Bridges. | Courtesy Saint Louis Art Museum
Representation
303 Gallery in New York announced its representation of Esteban Jefferson. Working in a variety of mediums, from photography, drawing and painting to sound installation, race, identity and the legacies of colonialism are his central concerns. Jefferson was born in New York City where he continues to live and work.
Awards & Honors
The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, announced artist, author and storyteller Ashley Bryan is the recipient of the 2022 Maine in America Award. The annual award recognizes “an outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American art.” Bryan, 98, has lived in Maine since the mid-1940s and retired from Dartmouth College. He is best known for his illustrated children’s books. In fall 2022, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York is presenting the exhibition “Ashley Bryan & Langston Hughes: Sail Away.”
Nicole R. Fleetwood was awarded the annual Susanne M. Glasscock Humanities Book Prize for Interdisciplinary Scholarship for her book “Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration.” She will receive the prize from the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research at Texas A&M University and discuss the book during virtual event in early March.
Auctions
Bonhams is hosting a sports memorabilia auction that will include drawings made by Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) and a selection of paintings by his father, Cassius Clay Sr. (1912-1990). The TCM Presents…It’s a Knockout! sale on Oct. 5, features about 30 works by Ali, depicting various subjects including boxing, civil rights, religion, and peace and humanity. The works for sale come from the collection of Rodney Hilton Brown, who published limited edition prints by Ali through Hilton Fine Arts Ltd., and authored “Muhammad Ali: The Untold Story: Painter, Poet & Prophet.” According to Bonhams, the sale represents the largest collection of art by the boxing champion to come to auction. The artwork is offered alongside Ali sports memorabilia and collectibles related to other athletes.
Opportunities
Princeton Arts Fellowship is designed for artists who have demonstrated “extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. Applicants should be early career composers, conductors, musicians, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, poets, novelists, playwrights, designers, directors and performance artists–this list is not meant to be exhaustive–who would find it beneficial to spend two years teaching and working in an artistically vibrant university community.” The Fellowship spans the academic years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 at Princeton University. Fellows are expected to teach and receive $86,000/year stipends. Deadline for applications is Sept. 14, 2021 @ 5 p.m. ET. | More Info
The nonprofit magazine Triple Canopy is hiring a deputy editor. Based in Manhattan, Triple Canopy “publishes and presents work by artists, writers, and researchers, primarily through the magazine’s digital platform but also in books, conversations, performances, videos, and podcasts, among other media and experiences.” The position was posted Aug. 25. Candidate would ideally start Nov. 1, 2021. | More Info
The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia is hiring for several positions including assistant curator, art librarian assistant (part-time), and director of individual giving. Applications for spring internships (virtual) are due Oct. 1, 2021. | More Info
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Artist Bisa Butler spoke to CBS This Morning about her portrait quilts, the role of color in her work, the cultural and historical significance of the images and subjects she immortalizes, and her exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. | Video by CBS News
