MacArthur Foundation Announced 2024 ‘Genius’ Fellows, Recipients of $800,000 Grants Include Artists Ebony G. Patterson and Tony Cokes
Ebony G. Patterson. | Courtesy John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation EMPLOYING BEAUTY, BLING, brilliant color, and the symbolism of the garden, Ebony G. Patterson, makes intensely layered and embellished works that explore complex themes—many of them not so pretty—including visibility, pageantry, violence, death, mourning, and regeneration. Over the past few years, the...
Sotheby’s is Partnering With ARTNOIR and Artist Yinka Ilori, Tapped Rich Paul as ‘Curator’ and Titus Kaphar as Cover Star
Sotheby’s engages in partnerships, collaborations, and content creation to promote its international auction business. Recent projects feature Black artists and organizations, including a pop-up redesign of its London café Pride is Within My Story: Artist and Designer Yinka IIori at his Sotheby’s Cafe Pop Up. | Photo by Credit Chris McAndrew, Courtesy Sotheby’s...
Artists for Kamala: Dozens of Artists Donated Works to Auction Benefitting Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a White House NCAA Sports Day event, Monday, July 22, 2024, on the South Lawn of the White House. | Official White House Photo by Oliver Contreras ARTISTS ARE COMING TOGETHER to help Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign for the presidency. Artists for Kamala announced that some of...
Taylor Renee Aldridge Joined Modern Ancient Brown Foundation in Detroit as Executive Director, Appointment Marks Return to Her Hometown
IN DETROIT, MICH., the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation (MAB) welcomed Taylor Renee Aldridge as executive director. Aldridge joined the foundation from the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles, where she had been visual arts curator & program manager since 2020. The MAB appointment marks a homecoming for Aldridge, who was born and raised...
History Maker: ‘Amy Sherald: American Sublime’ Will Be First Solo Exhibition of a Black Female Artist at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
AMY SHERALD, “A God Blessed Land (Empire of Dirt),” 2022 (oil on linen, 96 1/8 x 130 1/8 inches). | Tymure Collection, © Amy Sherald. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Joseph Hyde THE LARGEST-EVER EXHIBITION of Amy Sherald (b. 1973) opens in November at the San Francisco Museum of Modern...
Celebrating African American Art Throughout the Year, 2025 Calendars Focus on Richard Mayhew, Alma Thomas, Faith Ringgold, Romare Bearden, Feature Barkley Hendricks
THE POWERFUL PORTRAITS of Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017) are in a category of their own. Key elements characterize the late artist’s paintings, including his masterful use of color. “Miss Brown To You” (1970) by Hendricks, pictures his subject wearing a red top against a red background. When he employed this stylized approach, Hendricks described the...
Moving On Up: 35 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2024
Culture Type reports on new appointments of Black curators and arts leaders to get a sense of representation in museums, with an emphasis on art museums. Museum leaders, curators, and educators shape the management and intellectual direction of institutions, determine the art visitors see and the programming they experience and, by extension, whether audiences of...
2024 Heinz Award Goes to Jennie C. Jones, Honor Includes $250,000 Prize
Jennie C. Jones. | Photo by Joshua Franzos THE UNIQUE PRACTICE of Jennie C. Jones (b. 1968) has gained increasing attention and more prominent platforms in recent years. A sonic and visual artist, Jones works across painting, sculpture, sound, and installation. In 2022, her exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York...
On View: First International Institutional Survey of Noah Davis Now Open in Germany, Will Travel to London and Los Angeles, Where the Late Artist Was Based
NOAH DAVIS, “The Missing Link 4,” 2013 (oil on canvas, 78 x 86 1/4 inches / 198.1 x 219.1 cm). | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Purchased with funds provided by AHAN: Studio Forum, 2013 Art Here and Now purchase. © The Estate of Noah Davis. Courtesy The Estate of Noah Davis and David...
Jessica Bell Brown to Lead Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond
IN RICHMOND, VA., the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University appointed Jessica Bell Brown its next executive director. ICA at VCU opened its doors in 2018. In less than a decade, the young institution has established itself as a dynamic space with a formidable contemporary art program engaging with local and regional figures...
Next Spring: Major Mid-Career Survey of Rashid Johnson Will Unfold Throughout the Grand Rotunda of Guggenheim Musuem
RASHID JOHNSON, “Untitled Escape Collage,” 2018 (ceramic tile, mirror tile, branded red oak flooring, vinyl, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap, and wax, 97 × 121 × 2 1/4 inches / 246.4 × 307.3 × 5.7 cm). | Image courtesy the artist © Rashid Johnson, 2024. Photo by Martin Parsekian A MAJOR TRAVELING SURVEY...
Latest News in Black Art: Francis Kéré Designing Las Vegas Museum, Ashley James Curating Kingston Biennial, Deana Lawson Guest-Edited Aperture Magazine & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Concept design for Las Vegas Museum of Art. | Kéré Architecture MUSEUMS Francis Kéré Designing Forthcoming Las Vegas Museum Las Vegas, Nev., is getting an art museum designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kéré. Elaine Wynn,...
Uprising of the Sun: Multi-Story Window Painted by Julie Mehretu Will Greet Visitors at Forthcoming Obama Presidential Center
Rendering of “Uprising of the Sun” by Julie Mehretu – Women’s Garden View, Obama Presidential Center Museum Building. | Photo: Lamar Johnson Collaborative and Julie Mehretu Studio WHEN THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER opens in 2026, visitors will be greeted by the work of Julie Mehretu. Working with glass for the first time, the renowned...
Metropolitan Museum of Art Welcomed Candice Yates as Senior Research Associate of James Van Der Zee Archive
JAMES VAN DER ZEE (American, 1886-1983), “Self-portrait,” 1931 (gelatin silver print). | © James Van Der Zee Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art A VAST COLLECTION representing the legacy of Harlem Renaissance photographer James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The expansive holdings include about...
On View: ‘Tau Lewis: Spirit Level’ at ICA Boston Features Handcrafted Monumental Beings Drawn From ‘Black Geographies’
Installation view of “Tau Lewis: Spirit Level,” Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2024. | Photo by Mel Taing, Courtesy ICA Boston On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions SINCE CHILDHOOD, Tau Lewis (b. 1993) has collected materials and artifacts imbued with history and personal meaning. Pulling from this assiduously assembled library, Lewis creates soft...
Courtney J. Martin Recently Joined Robert Rauschenberg Foundation as Executive Director, Calling Opportunity ‘Unparalleled’
Courtney J. Martin, 2024. Photo by Mara Lavitt Courtney J. Martin is the first Black person to lead a major artist-endowed foundation ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT artist-endowed foundations has a new leader. The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation announced the appointment of Courtney J. Martin as executive director in February. A curator and art...
On View: ‘Firelei Báez: A Midnight’s Dream,’ Immersive Presentation at South London Gallery is Artist’s First Institutional Solo Exhibition in UK
Installation view of “Firelei Báez: Sueño de la Madrugada (A Midnight’s Dream),” 2024. South London Gallery, London, UK | Photo by Above Ground, Courtesy South London Gallery On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE CAPTIVATING WORK of Firelei Báez (b. 1981) is an exercise in world building. Engaging with mythology, folklore, and...
Exhibiting Forgiveness: Stirring Paintings by Titus Kaphar Inspired Artist’s Debut Film and Feature in Forthcoming Gallery Exhibition
Trailer: Written and directed by Titus Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” reflects the artist’s life, reconnecting with his father after 15 years, and prominently features his paintings. The film is set to open in theaters in Oct. 18, 2024. | Video by Roadside Flix THE STIRRING PAINTINGS OF Titus Kaphar (b. 1976) and the artist’s own...
Teiger Foundation Awarded More Than $4 Million in Grants to Dozens of Curators, Funding Many Exhibitions and Projects Focused on African American Artists
CRENSHAW DAIRY MART | Opening Reception, “JUICE WOOD: I Could Show You..,” Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Inglewood, Calif. (Sept. 24–29, 2023), Presented as part of The Crenshaw Dairy Mart Fellowship For Abolition And The Advancement of the Creative Economy (CDM-FAACE). | Courtesy the artist and Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Photo by Angel Xotlanihua / Elon Schoenholz ...
Tavares Strachan Centers Underknown Black History and Unsung Heroes, His First Mid-Career Survey ‘Offers Revelatory Lessons That Profoundly Shift Our View of the World’
Installation view of “Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere,” Hayward Gallery, London, UK, 2024. Shown, TAVARES STRACHAN, “Ruin of a Giant (Marcus Garvey),” 2024. | Photo by Mark Blower, Courtesy the artist and Hayward Gallery A FORMIDABLE SCULPTURE of Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey’s head is stationed out front of Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre...
