Kenvi Phillips Appointed Director of Barack Obama Presidential Library at the National Archives, HBCU Alum is Leading First Digital Presidential Library
OVER THE COURSE of her two-decade career, American historian Kenvi Phillips has achieved a number of firsts. Her latest is tied to the first Black President of the United States. Phillips is the inaugural director of the Barack Obama Presidential Library. She is charged with leading all library activities across planning, administration, and programming. Colleen...
TK Smith Joined Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum as Curator, Arts of Africa and the African Diaspora, ‘He Uses Art as Portal for Understanding Our Histories’
EMORY UNIVERSITY in Atlanta, Ga., welcomed TK Smith as curator of the arts of Africa and the diaspora at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Smith is a curator, writer, lecturer, and cultural historian who has been based in Atlanta and Philadelphia, Pa. His new appointment at the campus museum was announced Aug. 1. “TK is...
Latest News in Black Art: Stella Jean Designs Haiti’s Olympic Uniforms, Christelle Oyiri Selected for Tate Commission, Kennedy Center Honoring The Apollo & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Stella Jean designed the Haiti Olympic Team’s opening ceremony outfits. | Courtesy Stella Jean DESIGN Designer Stella Jean x 2024 Haiti Olympic Team Haitian Italian designer Stella Jean, whose eponymous label is based in Rome, Italy,...
Venus Over Manhattan Now Represents Claude Lawrence, Jazz Trumpeter Added Abstract Painting to His Repertoire in 1980s
Portrait of Claude Lawrence with “Sundown Town” (2022), on view in his exhibition “Reflections on Porgy & Bess at Venus Over Manhattan,” 2024. | Courtesy the artist and Venus Over Manhattan, New York VENUS OVER MANHATTAN gallery in New York announced its representation Claude Lawrence (b. 1944), an abstract painter whose work is intrinsically...
Audrey Hudson is Joining Philadelphia Museum of Art as Deputy Director of Learning and Engagement: ‘I Am Pumped By the Opportunity’
THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART (PMA) is welcoming Audrey Hudson as the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Deputy Director for Learning and Engagement, a leadership role at the museum. Hudson brings a range of experience across academia, art education, museum learning, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices. She is joining PMA from the Art Gallery...
Latest News in Black Art: San Francisco Gets Thomas J. Price Sculpture, Art by Charles Gaines and Nina Chanel Abney at JFK Airport, New CEO at Muhammad Ali Center
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture THOMAS PRICE, Installation view of “As Sounds Turn to Noise,” 2023 (bronze, 110 3/8 inches high x 47 1/2 inches wide x 32 3/4 inches deep). | Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Photo: San Francisco...
SCAD Museum of Art Named Andreia Wardlaw Director of Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies
THE SCAD MUSEUM OF ART (SCAD MOA) at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in Georgia appointed Andreia Wardlaw director of the Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies. The July 10 announcement described Wardlaw as “an experienced leader and community builder who is passionate about education and the arts.” She...
Latest News in Black Art: New Director for Georgetown University Art Galleries, ‘Giants’ Exhibition Traveling to High Museum, Kenturah Davis Lands Baltimore Museum of Art Residency & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Jaynelle Hazard. | Courtesy Georgetown Galleries APPOINTMENTS Georgetown University Art Galleries Welcome New Director In Washington, D.C., Georgetown University’s College of Art & Sciences recruited Jaynelle Hazard (above) to helm its art galleries. Hazard was appointed...
2024 Wheelwright Prize: Thandi Loewenson Wins Harvard University’s $100,000 Architectural Research Fellowship
AN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER AND RESEARCHER, Thandi Loewenson (b. 1989) wants to learn more about the connections between land and African liberation and dig deeper to understand how the racist exploits of colonialism have influenced not only dispossession and redistribution of surface terrain, but also bear on resources below ground and high up in the atmosphere....
Brendan Fernandes is Now Co-Represented by Galleries in New York and Chicago, Artist Works at Intersection of Dance and Visual Art
BRENDAN FERNANDES, “As One X,” 2017 (digital print, 14 x 20 inches), Edition of 3 plus 2 A.P. (BF0010). | © Brendan Fernandes. Courtesy Susan Inglett Gallery, NY, and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago WORKING AT THE INTERSECTION of dance and visual art, Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979) has developed a singular practice. “For me, dance...
Latest News in Black Art: Robert Peterson Joins GAVLAK, Nina Chanel Abney x Air Jordan, June Clark Makes Sobey Art Award Shortlist, SFMOMA Acquisitions & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture ROBERT PETERSON, “Gods favorite,” 2023 (oil on canvas, 72 x 96 inches / 182.9 x 243.84 cm). | © Robert Peterson. Permanent collection of Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio. Courtesy the artist and GAVLAK REPRESENTATION...
Latest News in Black Art: New Gallery Representation for Samuel Fosso, Sydney Cain, and Kennedy Yanko, Walters Art Museum Names Interim Co-Leader, Plus Ibrahim Said Wins $100,000 Craft Prize
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Ibrahim Said. | Photo by Dhanraj Emanuel, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery AWARDS & HONORS Maxwell | Hanrahan Awards in Craft Announced Five artists received 2024 Maxwell | Hanrahan Awards in Craft: Cristina Córdova, Ibrahim Said, Nisha...
Imara Limon Promoted to Chief Curator at Amsterdam Museum, She Has ‘Enriched Our Museum and the Museum Field as a Whole’
A NEW CURATORIAL LEADER has emerged at the Amsterdam Museum. Imara Limon was appointed chief curator at The Netherlands museum. In the new role, Limon will become a member of the management team. A curator and art historian, Limon joined the Amsterdam Museum as a curator in 2017 and currently serves as head of conservation....
Latest News in Black Art: Alvaro Barrington Unveils Tate Commission, New LGBTQ+ Biennial in Detroit, Oliver Lee Jackson Joined Lisson Gallery, Art School Closure & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Tate Britain Commission – Alvaro Barrington: GRACE. | Photo © Tate, Photo by Seraphina Neville PUBLIC ART Alvaro Barrington’s Tate Commission Celebrates Black Women In London, Alvaro Barrington (b. 1983) unveiled “Grace,” his new Tate Commission...
Los Angeles: Art Community Turns Out to Honor Mark Bradford and Arts for Healing and Justice Network at Getty Prize Dinner
May 13, 2024: Getty Prize recipient Mark Bradford at Getty Prize dinner at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Calif. | Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for The J. Paul Getty Trust THE GETTY FOUNDATION recently celebrated Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford and the many ways the arts can transform lives. Bradford received the...
Spotted: Painting by Alma Thomas on Display in White House Office of Vice President Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris holds an on-phone and in-person meeting in preparation for her trip to Singapore Wednesday, August 4, 2021, in her West Wing Office of the White House with “White Daisies Rhapsody” (1973) by Alma Thomas hanging in the background. | Official White House Photo by Erin Scott WHITE DAISIES RHAPSODY (1973)...
2024 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize Goes to Lebohang Kganye, South African Artist Known for Unique Approach to Visual Storytelling
LEBOHANG KGANYE, “Mohlokomedi wa Tora,” 2018, Scene 2 (Xanita board on wood). | © Lebohang Kganye SOUTH AFRICAN ARTIST Lebohang Kganye emerged from a shortlist of four international artists and collectives to win the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2024, including a £30,000 award (about US $38,300). Drawing on oral histories, family photo albums,...
Latest News in Black Art: Major Artist Prize Goes to Sable Elyse Smith, New Chief Learning Officer at Cleveland Museum of Art, Kehinde Wiley Denied Sexual Assault Accusation & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Sable Elyse Smith. | Photo by Tommy Kha AWARDS & HONORS 2026 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize Winner Sable Elyse Smith (b. 1986), above, is the latest artist recognized with the Suzanne Deal...
Atlanta: 2024 Driskell Prize Winner Naomi Beckwith Celebrated at High Museum of Art Gala and Afterparty
2024 Driskell Prize Recipient Naomi Beckwith, deputy director and chief curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, N.Y. | Photo by Rafterman, Courtesy The High Museum of Art Gala guests included High Museum of Art Director Randall Suffolk, curator Valerie Cassel Oliver, photographer Tyler Mitchell, designer Sergio Hudson, artist Ebony G....
Naomi Beckwith Reflects on the Role of a Curator, Influencing Art History, and Receiving 2024 David C. Driskell Prize
2024 David C. Driskell Prize Recipient Naomi Beckwith reflects on the meaning of the honor and the legendary contributions of its namesake. | Video by High Museum of Art. A CURATOR AND ART HISTORIAN, Naomi Beckwith has made remarkable strides in the museum world. After formative roles at the Studio Museum in Harlem and...
