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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

Latest News in Black Art: Artist Lorraine O'Grady Has Died, Zoe Whitley is Departing Chisenhale Gallery, Family Seeks Return of Paintings From Louisiana Museums & More

Latest News in Black Art: Artist Lorraine O’Grady Has Died, Zoe Whitley is Departing Chisenhale Gallery, Family Seeks Return of Paintings From Louisiana Museums & More

Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Lorraine O’Grady. | Photo by Lelanie Foster, Courtesy the artist and Mariane Ibrahim gallery   LIVES Conceptual Artist Lorraine O’Grady Has Died at 90 New York artist Lorraine O’Grady (1934-2024) died at...
Nikki Giovanni, 81, Profound Poet Whose Poignant Verse Reflected the Evolving Times in Which She Lived, Has Died

Nikki Giovanni, 81, Profound Poet Whose Poignant Verse Reflected the Evolving Times in Which She Lived, Has Died

Nikki Giovanni. | Photo © Nikki Giovanni   A PROFOUND VOICE and insightful wordsmith has passed on. Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024), the American poet, professor, public intellectual, and key figure in the Black Arts Movement, died in Blacksburg, Va., on Nov. 9. She was 81 years old. Virginia C. Fowler, Giovanni’s...
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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: 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'

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....
Known for Monumental Abstract Paintings, Julie Mehretu Designed the Latest BMW Art Car: 'To Be Honest I Was Nervous About the Idea of Decorating a Car'

Known for Monumental Abstract Paintings, Julie Mehretu Designed the Latest BMW Art Car: ‘To Be Honest I Was Nervous About the Idea of Decorating a Car’

Julie Mehretu in the BMW Art Car #20, which she designed. | Photo by Tereza Mundilová. © BMW AG (05/2024)   WORKING ON A GRAND SCALE, American artist Julie Mehretu makes abstract paintings distinguished by their kaleidoscopic mark making. The dynamic compositions reference architecture and topography and explore an array of contemporary experiences, human conditions,...
Language of Tears: First New York Solo Show of Painter Jerrell Gibbs Explores Complexity of Fatherhood at James Cohan Gallery

Language of Tears: First New York Solo Show of Painter Jerrell Gibbs Explores Complexity of Fatherhood at James Cohan Gallery

JERRELL GIBBS, “My worst fear is one day that you come home from school and see your father face while hearin’ about tragedy on news,” 2024 (oil, oil stick on canvas, 60 x 95 inches / 152.4 x 241.3 cm). | © Jerrell Gibbs 2024. Image courtesy the artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York....
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: 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...
Chair With My Hair: Major Retrospective of Arthur Simms Spans Four Decades, Exploring His Jamaican Roots, Experiences in Italy, and Use of Symbolic Materials

Chair With My Hair: Major Retrospective of Arthur Simms Spans Four Decades, Exploring His Jamaican Roots, Experiences in Italy, and Use of Symbolic Materials

Installation view of “Arthur Simms: Chair with My Hair,” Kunst Museum St. Gallen, Switzerland, Feb. 10-July 7, 2024. Shown, from left, ARTHUR SIMMS, “Lucy Fradkin Meets John Delapa Or Gregor,” 1989-92 (rope, wood, glue, paint, metal and objects, 284 × 140 × 61 cm); “Mell,” 2003 (wood, rope, wire, wheels and plastic, 94 × 86...
Los Angeles: Art Community Turns Out to Honor Mark Bradford and Arts for Healing and Justice Network at Getty Prize Dinner

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

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)...
All About Love: Mickalene Thomas Painting Covers Juxtapoz Magazine on Occasion of Artist's International Touring Exhibition

All About Love: Mickalene Thomas Painting Covers Juxtapoz Magazine on Occasion of Artist’s International Touring Exhibition

MICKALENE THOMAS, “Afro Goddess Looking Forward,” 2015 (rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel). | © 2024 Mickalene Thomas   ‘AFRO GODDESS Looking Forward’ by Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) in many ways is representative of the artist’s practice. Both the title of the painting and its figurative image encapsulate the themes that have recurred throughout...
2024 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize Goes to Lebohang Kganye, South African Artist Known for Unique Approach to Visual Storytelling

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: 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

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

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...
White Cube Gallery Announced Its Representation of Howardena Pindell, Artist Known for Profound Personal and Political Works and Innovative Use of Circular Motifs

White Cube Gallery Announced Its Representation of Howardena Pindell, Artist Known for Profound Personal and Political Works and Innovative Use of Circular Motifs

From left, Howardena Pindell, early in her career. | © the artist; Howardena Pindell, 2018. | Photo © Nathan Keay, Courtesy White Cube   ARTIST AND CURATOR Howardena Pindell (b. 1943) joined White Cube gallery. Emphasizing color, structure and process, Pindell’s multidisciplinary practice explores an array of social and political issues, often through her own...
On View: 'Diedrick Brackens: Blood Compass' at Jack Shainman Gallery Presents Poetic, Painterly Weavings Made Over Past 6 Years

On View: ‘Diedrick Brackens: Blood Compass’ at Jack Shainman Gallery Presents Poetic, Painterly Weavings Made Over Past 6 Years

Installation view of DIEDRICK BRACKENS, “forks of the creek,” 2023 (cotton and acrylic yarn, 86 x 156 inches), “Diedrick Brackens: blood compass,” Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, New York, N.Y., 2024. | © Diedrick Brackens. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE...
Marking 20 Years, New Documentary Explores Founding of 'Art, Beats + Lyrics' Urban Art Show and Music Tour

Marking 20 Years, New Documentary Explores Founding of ‘Art, Beats + Lyrics’ Urban Art Show and Music Tour

Art, Beats + Lyrics is a touring urban art exhibition launched in Atlanta in 2004. From left, Founder and Producer Jabari Graham and Curator Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright. | Courtesy AB+L   ATLANTA, GA., HAS BEEN A NEXUS for African American art and artists for nearly a century since Hale Woodruff, Atlanta University’s first art teacher,...
Latest News in Black Art: April Bey and Paul Anthony Smith Join New Galleries, Nigel Freeman Heading Fine Art at Swann Auctions, Inaugural Artnoir Fellow & More

Latest News in Black Art: April Bey and Paul Anthony Smith Join New Galleries, Nigel Freeman Heading Fine Art at Swann Auctions, Inaugural Artnoir Fellow & More

Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   APRIL BEY, “I KNOW ALL ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW ALL ABOUT,” 2024 (jacquard, sherpa, crushed velour, metallic thread, beads, adorned clothespins, 80 x 240 inches). | © April Bey, Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los...
First Museum Survey of LaToya Ruby Frazier Showcases Array of Photo-Based Projects, Bringing Attention to Communities in Crisis Fighting for Basic Human Rights

First Museum Survey of LaToya Ruby Frazier Showcases Array of Photo-Based Projects, Bringing Attention to Communities in Crisis Fighting for Basic Human Rights

LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER, Sandra Gould Ford Wearing Her Work Jacket and Hard Hat in Her Meditation Room in Homewood, PA from On the Making of Steel Genesis: Sandra Gould Ford, 2017. | © 2023 LaToya Ruby Frazier, Courtesy the artist and Gladstone gallery   BLENDING PHOTOGRAPHY AND ACTIVISM, LaToya Ruby Frazier’s singular practice is political,...
On View: 'Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century' Features Works by William H. Johnson, Herbert Gentry, and Walter Williams at Nordic Museum in Seattle

On View: ‘Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century’ Features Works by William H. Johnson, Herbert Gentry, and Walter Williams at Nordic Museum in Seattle

On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, “Sunset, Denmark,” circa 1935-38 (oil on canvas). | Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.818   A SURGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS went to Paris in the 1920s and 30s and a second wave arrived in the post-World War II era....
Latest News in Black Art: Lubaina Himid Covers Brooklyn Rail, New Curatorial Role for Bethani Blake at Amistad Center, Kevin Young Gets Harvard Arts Medal, Sobey Art Award Longlist

Latest News in Black Art: Lubaina Himid Covers Brooklyn Rail, New Curatorial Role for Bethani Blake at Amistad Center, Kevin Young Gets Harvard Arts Medal, Sobey Art Award Longlist

Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Bethani Blake. | Courtesy Amistad Center for Art & Culture   APPOINTMENTS Amistad Center Announces New Curatorial Role The Amistad Center for Art & Culture in Hartford, Conn., focuses on the African American experience. Founded in 1987,...