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An essential resource focused on visual art from a Black perspective, Culture Type explores the intersection of art, history, and culture

Awards & Honors
Gish Prize Goes to Thelma Golden, Director of Studio Museum in Harlem is First Curator to Receive $250,000 Award

Gish Prize Goes to Thelma Golden, Director of Studio Museum in Harlem is First Curator to Receive $250,000 Award

THE 30TH ANNUAL Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize was awarded to Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem. A transformational figure in the world of art, for more than 35 years, Golden has provided a platform for Black artists as a curator, museum leader, mentor, and advocate. The prize was...
Theaster Gates Will Receive 2023 Vincent Scully Prize From National Building Museum, Honor Celebrates Excellence in Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Urban Design

Theaster Gates Will Receive 2023 Vincent Scully Prize From National Building Museum, Honor Celebrates Excellence in Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Urban Design

Theaster Gates is his Chicago studio, Sept. 29, 2020. | Photo by Lyndon French, Courtesy of Theaster Gates   The National Building Museum is honoring Theaster Gates and hosting a conversation with the artist on Nov. 3   AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED potter, sculptor, performance artist, and social innovator, Theaster Gates has developed an ambitious archiving...
Nasher Sculpture Center Announced Artist Otobong Nkanga is Next Recipient of $100,000 Nasher Prize

Nasher Sculpture Center Announced Artist Otobong Nkanga is Next Recipient of $100,000 Nasher Prize

Otobong Nkanga. | Photo by Wim van Dongen   EACH YEAR SINCE 2016, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, has presented an international award to a living artist whose practice “elevates the understanding of sculpture and its possibilities.” The recipient of the 2025 Nasher Prize is Otobong Nkanga. The Nigerian Belgian artist is the...
MacArthur Foundation Announced 2023 Fellows, Including Artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Carolyn Lazard

MacArthur Foundation Announced 2023 Fellows, Including Artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Carolyn Lazard

THREE VISUAL ARTISTS, all women of color, are among the 2023 MacArthur Foundation fellows. Interdisciplinary artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons brought a mix of heritages and cultures when she emigrated to the United States three decades ago. “I was born in Cuba, but I also feel that I belong to many other places,” said Campos-Pons. In...
Artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley Received 2023 Heinz Awards, Recognition Includes $250,000 Prize

Artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley Received 2023 Heinz Awards, Recognition Includes $250,000 Prize

Roberto Lugo. | Photo by Joshua Franzos, Courtesy Heinz Foundation   THE HEINZ FAMILY FOUNDATION’S annual Heintz Awards celebrate outstanding contributions in the arts, as well as the economy and environment. This year, the five recipients include artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley. Heintz Award recipients receive a medal and an unrestricted $250,000 cash prize....
Art & Diplomacy: U.S. Dept. of State Medal of Arts Bestowed on Robert Pruitt and Hank Willis Thomas at White House Ceremony

Art & Diplomacy: U.S. Dept. of State Medal of Arts Bestowed on Robert Pruitt and Hank Willis Thomas at White House Ceremony

Sept. 13: Arts in Embassies 2023 Medal of the Arts recipients. From left, Suling Wang, Hank Willis Thomas, Robert Pruitt, and Tony Abeyta, in the East Room of the White House. | Official White House Photo by Erin Scott   First Lady Jill Biden hosted the 2023 Medal of Arts event honoring five artists at...
Studio Museum in Harlem Announces 2023-24 Artists-in-Residence: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley

Studio Museum in Harlem Announces 2023-24 Artists-in-Residence: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley

  THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM’S highly regarded artist-in-residence program is welcoming a new cohort: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley. Working across a range of mediums from textiles and performance to graphic design and audio, the artists hail most recently from New York, New Orleans, and Providence, R.I. The news was announced...
Design Industry Celebrates Best in Books, Recognizing Volumes on Artists Wangechi Mutu, Shikeith, and Just Above Midtown

Design Industry Celebrates Best in Books, Recognizing Volumes on Artists Wangechi Mutu, Shikeith, and Just Above Midtown

Winning selections included books dedicated to a variety of visual artists.   ONE Of THE MOST ANTICIPATED museum exhibitions of 2022 paid tribute to Just Above Midtown, the storied New York gallery space Linda Goode Bryant launched nearly half a century ago, providing a platform for Black artists when they were largely shut out of...
In Recognition: Ebony G. Patterson's Multifaceted Practice Taps Beauty of Botanical World to Start Conversations About Visibility, Violence, and Survival

In Recognition: Ebony G. Patterson’s Multifaceted Practice Taps Beauty of Botanical World to Start Conversations About Visibility, Violence, and Survival

Artist Ebony G. Patterson. | Photo by Frank Ishaman   ATTENDING ART SCHOOL in Jamaica, Ebony G. Patterson made a “classically inclined” painting that she didn’t love. Her undergraduate professor recognized that she was struggling and asked her why she was pursuing the medium in that style. “Ebony, is this really what you want to...
Barbara Walker Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Recognized for Series of Portrait Drawings Dedicated to Windrush Scandal

Barbara Walker Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Recognized for Series of Portrait Drawings Dedicated to Windrush Scandal

  FOUR ARTISTS SHORTLISTED for the Turner Prize 2023 were announced today by Tate Britain. Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker are under consideration for the UK’s top visual art prize. The winner will be named on Dec. 5. Each year, the Turner Prize recognizes British artists for exceptional exhibitions or presentations...
Among Titans and Icons, Artists El Anatsui and Simone Leigh Make Time 100 List of World's Most Influential People

Among Titans and Icons, Artists El Anatsui and Simone Leigh Make Time 100 List of World’s Most Influential People

Artist El Anatsui. | Courtesy the artist, October Gallery and Jack Shainman Gallery   THE NEW TIME100 LIST is out today and three visual artists are among the honorees: El Anatsui, Simone Leigh, and Wolfgang Tillmans. The annual list pays tribute to an international slate of newsmakers and groundbreakers who are among the most influential...
Next Turbine Hall Commission Goes to El Anatsui, Celebrated Sculptor Will Create New Site-Specific Installation at Tate Modern

Next Turbine Hall Commission Goes to El Anatsui, Celebrated Sculptor Will Create New Site-Specific Installation at Tate Modern

  THIS FALL, Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall will be graced with a new site-specific installation by renowned artist El Anatsui. The London museum announced this morning that the Ghana-born, Nigeria-based sculptor known for his dazzling tapestry-style installations is the next Hyundai Commission artist. The annual presentation provides a unique opportunity for an artist to envision...
International Center of Photography Infinity Awards Go to Ming Smith for Lifetime Achievement and Rising Artist Zora J Murff

International Center of Photography Infinity Awards Go to Ming Smith for Lifetime Achievement and Rising Artist Zora J Murff

  PAYING TRIBUTE TO outstanding achievements in photography and visual culture, the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York announced its 2023 Infinity Awards. Ming Smith and Zora J Murff are among five recipients of the annual honors. For her career-spanning accomplishments, recognizing the arc of her practice and five decades of creativity, Smith...
Apollo Awards 2022: Faith Ringgold Named 'Artist of the Year' by International Art Magazine

Apollo Awards 2022: Faith Ringgold Named ‘Artist of the Year’ by International Art Magazine

  CELEBRATIONS AND HARD-WON RECOGNITION of Faith Ringgold and her singular practice continue apace. Over the past several years, Ringgold has been celebrated by major international institutions through awards, media profiles, publications, and exhibitions. The latest honor hails from London. Apollo, the international art magazine, announced its annual awards and Ringgold was named Artist of...
Faith Ringgold Makes Time 100, Influential Artist Has 'Painted, Sculpted, Written, Sewed, and Incited Change All Her Life'

Faith Ringgold Makes Time 100, Influential Artist Has ‘Painted, Sculpted, Written, Sewed, and Incited Change All Her Life’

  THE TIME 100 LIST of the most influential people of 2022 was announced today and Faith Ringgold, 91, was among the many impressive figures honored. The newsmagazine enlisted Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem to pay tribute to Ringgold. Golden began her text with a succinct assessment of...
New York Street Photographer Jamel Shabazz Named 2022 Recipient of Gordon Parks Foundation/Steidl Book Prize

New York Street Photographer Jamel Shabazz Named 2022 Recipient of Gordon Parks Foundation/Steidl Book Prize

SINCE THE LATE 1970S, New York photographer Jamel Shabazz has been cataloging his iconic street portraits in thematic albums. Housing small prints, numerous albums form a visual archive across nearly half a century documenting the city’s cultural shifts, sociopolitical landscape, and evolving style. The treasure trove will soon be published in book form. Shabazz is...
Adrienne L. Childs Will Receive 2022 David C. Driskell Prize, Curator Calls Award 'Unexpected and Extraordinary Honor'

Adrienne L. Childs Will Receive 2022 David C. Driskell Prize, Curator Calls Award ‘Unexpected and Extraordinary Honor’

  FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, the David C. Driskell Prize has recognized acclaimed artists and scholars for their contributions to the field of African American art. Recipients have included Kellie Jones, Franklin Sirmans, Valerie Cassel Oliver, Rashid Johnson, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Lyle Ashton Harris, Mark Bradford, Naima J. Keith, Amy Sherald, and Huey Copeland. Now...
American Folk Art Museum Will Honor Artists Faith Ringgold, Bisa Butler, and Brian Donnelly (KAWS) at 60th Anniversary Gala

American Folk Art Museum Will Honor Artists Faith Ringgold, Bisa Butler, and Brian Donnelly (KAWS) at 60th Anniversary Gala

  THREE OF THE MOST creative and relevant artists working today will be honored by the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM). The museum is paying tribute to Faith Ringgold, Bisa Butler, and Brian Donnelly (a.k.a. KAWS) at its 60th Anniversary Benefit Gala at Gotham Hall in New York on April 7. AFAM describes itself as...