Detroit Institute of Arts Appoints Juana Williams Associate Curator of African American Art
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA) is welcoming a new curator this week, naming Juana Williams associate curator of African American art. An independent curator based in Detroit, she recently served as director of exhibitions at Library Street Collective and was an adjunct faculty member in art history at Wayne State University. Williams is...
Latest News in Black Art: LACMA Acquires Beauford Delaney Painting, First-Ever New York Art Week, Installations by Fred Wilson and Rashid Johnson at LaGuardia & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Negro Man (Claude McKay),” 1944 ( oil on canvas, 19.12 x 16.25 inches / 48.6 x 41.3 cm). | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2022 Collectors Committee with additional...
Famed ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting by Ernie Barnes Headed to Auction at Christie’s
UPDATE (05/12/22): “The Sugar Shack” by Ernie Barnes hammered at $13 million, selling for a final price of $15,275,000 fees included, a huge record for the artist, exponentially smashing the his previous auction high mark, which was $550,000. The staggering result marks the first time a work by Barnes has sold for more than...
Latest News in Black Art: Sonia Boyce and Simone Leigh Win Golden Lions at Venice Biennale, Souls Grown Deep Brokers International Acquisitions, Artist List for Okwui Enwezor’s Sharjah Biennial & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Representing Great Britain, Sonia Boyce’s exhibition won the Golden Lion for best national pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. | Photo by Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images Awards & Honors On April 23,...
Lauren Haynes is Returning to New York City, Joining Queens Museum as Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programs
THE QUEENS MUSEUM in Queens, N.Y., announced the appointment of Lauren Haynes as director of curatorial affairs and programs this morning. Haynes spent a decade on the curatorial team at the Studio Museum in Harlem, departing in 2016 to join the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. Last year, she accepted...
Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion
Venice Biennale: “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” U.S. Pavilion, 2022 A TOWERING SCULPTURE pays homage to the ritual performances of the Baga peoples of the Guinea coast. Face jugs made by enslaved and free African Americans in the Edgefield District of South Carolina inspired a five-foot-tall vessel embellished with outsized forms that read as cowrie shells....
On View: See Images of Akinsanya Kambon’s Pan-African Inspired Ceramic Sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City
Ceramic works by Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions MAKING HIS SOLO DEBUT in New York City, Akinsanya Kambon is presenting figurative sculptures and wall reliefs at Jack Shainman Gallery. The ceramic works were made using an American raku firing technique, creating...
Jessica Bell Brown Promoted to Curator and Department Head for Contemporary Art at Baltimore Museum of Art
THE CONTEMPORARY ART DEPARTMENT at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is now led by Jessica Bell Brown. After joining the museum as associate curator of contemporary art in November 2019, Brown was promoted to curator and department head for contemporary art earlier this month. In her new role, she is overseeing a growing...
Latest News in Black Art: Veronica Ryan and Ingrid Pollard Make Turner Prize Shortlist, Major Kerry James Marshall Painting Headed to Auction, Museum Surveys of Sam Gilliam and Frank Bowling Coming Soon & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Veronica Ryan is one of four artists shortlisted for the 2022 Turner Prize. | © Veronica Ryan. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo: Steven Probert Awards & Honors On April 12, Tate Liverpool...
‘Black American Portraits’ Showcases 140 Artworks, Two Centuries of Representation Across Geographies and Diverse Practices
Installation view of “Black American Portraits,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art THE OBAMA PORTRAITS were such a hit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the museum launched a multi-city tour to give people throughout the country a chance to see the historic paintings. Kehinde Wiley‘s portrait of President Barack Obama...
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Telling an Inclusive Story of American Art
MINDFULLY BUILDING a national collection that showcases a multiplicity of perspectives and experiences is one of the most visible ways a museum can tell important stories. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, our curators have been acquiring artworks that present an inclusive story of American art, including often-overlooked histories...
Latest News in Black Art: Laurie Cumbo Appointed NYC Culture Czar, Civil Rights Photographer Doris Derby Died, Guggenheim Fellows, Derrick Adams, Derek Fordjour, Theaster Gates & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Civil Rights Photographer Doris Derby. | Photo courtesy Doris Derby via University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Lives Bronx, N.Y.-born civil rights photographer Doris Derby died in Newnan, Ga., outside Atlanta on March 28. She was...
Confirmed: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Headed to U.S. Supreme Court, Black Woman Photographer Captured History Maker’s First Official Portrait
IN A FORMAL, TRADITIONAL, and somber-toned room, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson stood for her first official portrait. Wearing all black, she posed before a black backdrop and studio lighting, the trappings of contemporary photography temporarily inserted into the White House complex space, literally disrupting history. The Senate confirmed Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court...
Camille Ann Brewer Appointed Director of San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles: ‘I’m Thrilled to be Part of an Institution That Celebrates California’s Legacy and History in Textile Arts’
THE SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF QUILTS AND TEXTILES (SJMQT) announced its new director will be Camille Ann Brewer. A Detroit, Mich.-based curator, handweaver, and archivist, Brewer will shape the museum’s vision and strategy, leading operations, exhibitions and programming, the collection, community engagement, and donor relations. Brewer brings a spectrum of experience to SJMQT, more than...
Latest News in Black Art: Veteran Studio Museum Board Member Nancy Lane Has Died, Amanda Hunt Joins Walker Art Center, Gladys Kalichini Wins Henrike Grohs Art Award, Plus Tate, SFMOMA, RISD & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Nancy Lane at Studio Museum in Harlem 2015 gala. | Photo by Julie Skarratt, Courtesy The Studio Museum in Harlem Lives New York art collector and philanthropist Nancy Lee Lane (1933-2022) died March 28....
On View: See Images From ‘Hew Locke: The Procession,’ New Tate Britain Commission in London is Parade Through Time, Geography, and Cultures
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A NEW LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION by Hew Locke, “The Procession” features nearly 150 life-sized figures outfitted in hand-made garments and masks. The latest Tate Britain Commission is a sculptural gumbo evoking celebration, sorrow, and world events across time—from slavery to climate change, the Black Lives Matter Movement,...
Ernestine White-Mifetu Appointed Curator of African Art at Brooklyn Museum
THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM recently welcomed Ernestine White-Mifetu as Sills Foundation Curator of African Art. White-Mifetu was working as an independent artist and curator when she joined the Brooklyn Museum. She brings two decades of experience to the role. Previously, she served as director and chief curator of the William Humphreys Art Gallery in Northern Cape,...
Amoako Boafo’s Top-Selling Paintings at Auction are Dominated by the Color Yellow
Christie’s Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2021 A STRIKING PORTRAIT by Amoako Boafo, “Hands Up” (2018) features a stylish young woman wearing yellow sunglasses against a yellow background. The painting sold for more than $3 million, nearly 10 times the estimate and an astounding new record at auction for the fast-rising artist. The record-setting result...
On View: See Images From ‘David Driskell: Mystery of the Masks,’ Exhibition Explores Recurring Symbol in Artist’s Practice at DC Moore Gallery in New York
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A RENOWNED SCHOLAR of African American art, David Driskell (1931-2020) had a deep interest in African Art, which he was introduced to when he was a student at Howard University. More than a dozen years later, in 1969-70 and 1972, when he was a professor of...
On View: See Images From ‘Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities’ Exhibition at Harvard Art Museums
Installation view of “Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities” at Harvard Art Museums On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THROUGH COLLABORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION, master printers and a diverse slate of artists have been producing new works at Brandywine Workshop and Archives for half a century. The Philadelphia organization was...
