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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

Diallo Simon-Ponte is Joining Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, as Inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs

Diallo Simon-Ponte is Joining Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, as Inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs

IN LOUISVILLE, KY, the Speed Art Museum is welcoming Diallo Simon-Ponte as the inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs. A writer and curator, Simon-Ponte will lead the Speed Museum’s new Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. Bringing artist engagement and exhibition management experience to the role, he officially starts...
Jack Shainman Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Faith Ringgold, 'Artist Played Significant Role in Shaping Culture of American Art'

Jack Shainman Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Faith Ringgold, ‘Artist Played Significant Role in Shaping Culture of American Art’

IN NEW YORK CITY, Jack Shainman Gallery announced its exclusive representation of the Estate of Faith Ringgold and the Anyone Can Fly Foundation. Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) was a profound and pivotal figure in the New York art world. Her art offered sharp commentary on America’s ills and her activism led...
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America the Beautiful: Vision of Artist Lorraine O'Grady and Voice of Ray Charles Inspire New Biden-Harris Video

America the Beautiful: Vision of Artist Lorraine O’Grady and Voice of Ray Charles Inspire New Biden-Harris Video

  A NEW VIDEO produced by the Biden-Harris campaign, captures Americans from all walks of life at home and work, in bustling cities and expansive rural landscapes, from sea to shining sea. With the Ray Charles rendition of “America the Beautiful” serving as the soundtrack, the video depicts Americans holding up ornate gold picture frames,...
Artist Emma Amos on Her Falling Series: I Liked the Idea Somebody Was 'Trying to Catch You' or 'Holding Onto You'

Artist Emma Amos on Her Falling Series: I Liked the Idea Somebody Was ‘Trying to Catch You’ or ‘Holding Onto You’

  IN THIS MOMENT OF CHALLENGES, uncertainty, and promise, Ryan Lee Gallery is presenting a timely exhibition of works by Emma Amos (1937-2020). “Emma Amos: Falling Figures” brings together figurative paintings that depict bodies in free fall—indeterminable states of abandon, loss, anxiety, rescue, and trust. This exhibition is the first dedicated to the falling figure...
With Drawn Arms: Documentary Explores Life of Olympic Medalist Tommie Smith, Contemporary Influence of Historic Protest

With Drawn Arms: Documentary Explores Life of Olympic Medalist Tommie Smith, Contemporary Influence of Historic Protest

  AN UNLIKELY COLLABORATION has produced artworks, exhibitions, and a new documentary distilling the life, legacy, and broader meaning and implications of a single political act by track and field champion Tommie Smith. In 1968, Smith won the Olympic gold medal in the 200 meter sprint and when he raised a black-gloved fist on the...
Election 2020: Artists and Museums are Actively Engaged, Presenting Exhibitions and Public Awareness Campaigns, and Encouraging Voter Participation

Election 2020: Artists and Museums are Actively Engaged, Presenting Exhibitions and Public Awareness Campaigns, and Encouraging Voter Participation

Vote.org’s Plan Your Vote campaign features voting advocacy artworks by artists including, from left, Julie Mehretu and Calida Rawles   ELECTION DAY IS NOV. 3 in the United States and in the lead up artists and art institutions have been active and engaged. The political season has inspired countless artist projects, information campaigns, public art...
Online: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Focus on Artists Amy Sherald, Charles Gaines, Genevieve Gaignard, Edgar Arceneaux, and The Racial Imaginary Institute

Online: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Focus on Artists Amy Sherald, Charles Gaines, Genevieve Gaignard, Edgar Arceneaux, and The Racial Imaginary Institute

  NEW NORMS of remote engagement have emerged from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the positive extensions of this development is galleries presenting online exhibitions, initially in lieu of and increasinly alongside in-person shows, expanding opportunities to experience new and recent works by artists. Shown here are five online exhibitions hosted by...
Lauren Tate Baeza Appointed Curator of African Art at High Museum of Art in Atlanta

Lauren Tate Baeza Appointed Curator of African Art at High Museum of Art in Atlanta

Curator Lauren Tate Baeza   THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART in Atlanta appointed Lauren Tate Baeza as its Fred and Rita Richman curator of African art. She will oversee the Atlanta museum’s African art department. A curator and Africanist with experience working with museums and international aid organizations, Baeza has been serving as the director...
Zimbabwean Artist Portia Zvavahera Sets New Record at Phillips Evening Auction, Titus Kaphar Painting Far Exceeds Estimate

Zimbabwean Artist Portia Zvavahera Sets New Record at Phillips Evening Auction, Titus Kaphar Painting Far Exceeds Estimate

  A RECENT PAINTING by Portia Zvavahera sold for nearly three times the high estimate at Phillips London. “Rising From the Unknown” (2019) reached £163,800 (US $212,383), a new artist record. The work was offered in Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Oct. 20. Evening sales are generally reserved for premiere works...
On View: 'Dawn Williams Boyd: Cloth Paintings' Online at Fort Gansevoort in New York

On View: ‘Dawn Williams Boyd: Cloth Paintings’ Online at Fort Gansevoort in New York

  On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THESE ARE NOT QUILTS. Images of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in the moments before he assassinated NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers (1925-1963) in the driveway of his Jackson, Miss., home or the decapitation of a journalist with a bloodied sign reading “Freedom of Speech...
New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Showcasing Works by Kevin Beasley, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Benny Andrews, Theaster Gates, and Odili Donald Odita

New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Showcasing Works by Kevin Beasley, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Benny Andrews, Theaster Gates, and Odili Donald Odita

  FALL IS ALWAYS PRIME TIME for exhibition programming and this season is no different, despite special protocols in place at galleries for in-person shows, given the pandemic. Some of the must-see art shows on view in New York City feature painting, both traditional forms and innovative mixed-media approaches incorporating a variety of materials. A...
James Little's Black Paintings are a 'Volley of Minimalist Ideals' Exposing the Drama, Richness, and Contrasting Values of Black

James Little’s Black Paintings are a ‘Volley of Minimalist Ideals’ Exposing the Drama, Richness, and Contrasting Values of Black

  WORKS BY TWO SINGULAR ARTISTS have been brought together for a tightly curated gallery exhibition titled “Louise Nevelson + James Little.” It’s an all black show. The practice of James Little is devoted to painting. He is known for his abstract works, geometric explorations driven by form and a spectrum of bright, exuberant color....
Stuart Clarke Rises to Board Chair at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore

Stuart Clarke Rises to Board Chair at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore

THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART (MICA) announced new board leadership. Stuart Clarke has served on MICA’s board of trustees since 2015, most recently as vice chair. On Oct. 16, he was unanimously elected chair and immediately assumed leadership of the Baltimore institution‘s governing body. “Our times and MICA’s specific context and opportunities call for...
Jammie Holmes Pours His Emotions Into His Paintings: 'When People Look at My Work I Want Them to Feel Something'

Jammie Holmes Pours His Emotions Into His Paintings: ‘When People Look at My Work I Want Them to Feel Something’

“Four Brown Chairs” (2020) by Jammie Holmes   FOUR YEARS AGO, Jammie Holmes started painting. He was working in a machine shop in Dallas, Texas, and thought the creative outlet would help calm his high blood pressure and anxiety. Between the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic and quarantine and the urgency of the racial justice...
Andrea Pippins Illustrated a New Kwanzaa Stamp, Offering a Contemporary Take on Traditional African American Holiday

Andrea Pippins Illustrated a New Kwanzaa Stamp, Offering a Contemporary Take on Traditional African American Holiday

  WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON fast approaching, the U.S. Postal Service issued a new Kwanzaa stamp featuring artwork by Andrea Pippins. The Forever stamp was dedicated on Oct. 13. Pippins offers a contemporary take on the traditional African American holiday established in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies. Working with a largely...
Vote 2020: With Election Season Underway, 30 Artists Present Thought-Provoking Art Reflecting on State of American Democracy

Vote 2020: With Election Season Underway, 30 Artists Present Thought-Provoking Art Reflecting on State of American Democracy

  THIS CAMPAIGN SEASON is like none other. In anticipation of the 2020 Presidential election, Rice University is presenting an intergenerational group exhibition focused on the state of democracy and some of the most urgent and divisive issues in American politics, namely voter access, police brutality, gun control, and immigration. “States of Mind: Art and...
Viewing Rooms: 10 Frieze London Exhibitors Presenting Solo Shows by Black Artists

Viewing Rooms: 10 Frieze London Exhibitors Presenting Solo Shows by Black Artists

  WORKS BY BLACK ARTISTS are showcased in many of the gallery presentations at the London edition of the Frieze art fair this year. Several galleries mounted solo shows focused on artists such as Theaster Gates, Faith Ringgold, Lauren Halsey, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, and Ben Enwonwu (1917-1994). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, artworks were presented...
Viewing Room: Salon 94 is Showcasing Artworks by Derrick Adams, Lyle Ashton Harris, Richard Wyatt Jr., and Robert Pruitt

Viewing Room: Salon 94 is Showcasing Artworks by Derrick Adams, Lyle Ashton Harris, Richard Wyatt Jr., and Robert Pruitt

Installation view of works by Richard Wyatt Jr., and Lyle Ashton Harris   NEW YORK-BASED SALON 94 gallery is showcasing works by seven artists, including Derrick Adams, Lyle Ashton Harris, Robert Pruitt, and Richard Wyatt Jr. The works are presented in the gallery’s Frieze Viewing Room. Frieze London 2020 was a hybrid event with limited...
On View: ADA / Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, Ghana, Opens with Solo Exhibition of Collins Obijiaku

On View: ADA / Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, Ghana, Opens with Solo Exhibition of Collins Obijiaku

“Papa and Joshua” (2020) by Collins Obijiaku   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A NEW COMMERCIAL GALLERY is opening in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 15. Established by art advisor Adora Mba, ADA / Contemporary Art Gallery‘s inaugural exhibition features 17 portraits by emerging Nigerian artist Collins Obijiaku (born 1995). “Gindin Mangoro: Under...
Sculptor Simone Leigh is Representing the United States at 2022 Venice Biennale

Sculptor Simone Leigh is Representing the United States at 2022 Venice Biennale

  THE UNITED STATES will be represented by Simone Leigh at the 59th Venice Biennale. It’s a historic choice. Leigh is the first Black female artist ever selected to stage a solo exhibition in the American Pavilion at the prestigious international exhibition and she is the third African American artist in row chosen for the...
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Promotes Gwendolyn Perry Davis to Senior Director of Operations

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Promotes Gwendolyn Perry Davis to Senior Director of Operations

THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO named a new senior director of operations. Gwendolyn Perry Davis has been elevated to the position, a critical leadership role overseeing both strategic and creative aspects of the museum’s operations. Perry Davis’s new responsibilities include the collections and exhibitions department and the human resources, information technology, facilities, and security...
On View: 'To Be Determined' at Dallas Museum of Art in Texas

On View: ‘To Be Determined’ at Dallas Museum of Art in Texas

“Untitled (America)” (2018) by Glenn Ligon   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE STATE OF THE NATION is influx. The pandemic. Isolation. Police killings. Racial justice protests. Election 2020. “To Be Determined” is a response to the moment. The collection exhibition draws on the expansive holdings of the Dallas Museum of Art,...