Summer Shows: 18 Museum Exhibitions Showcase Array of Black Artists, From Zanele Muholi, Frank Walter and Calida Rawles to Tyler Mitchell, Michael Thorpe & Arthur Jafa
SOME OF SUMMER’S MOST INTERESTING museum exhibitions are historic, presenting the first institutional solo shows of artists spanning generations. The selections include the first U.S. solo museum exhibitions of Frank Walter (1926–2009) at The Drawing Center in New York, Leilah Babirye at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and Calida Rawles at Pérez Art...
Culture Talk: Curator Kanitra Fletcher on Afro-Atlantic Histories: Exhibition is About ‘How the African Diaspora Comprises All These Voices and Lives and Experiences’
A VISUAL REVELATION, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” presents a sweeping account of the African Diaspora. The exhibition explores the “historical experiences and cultural formations” of Black people of African descent, across five centuries dating from the 17th century to the present. More than 130 works of art by artists from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the...
New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Explore Work of Artists Dawoud Bey, Mickalene Thomas, John Akomfrah, Zanele Muholi, and Calida Rawles
CURRENTLY ON VIEW IN NEW YORK, London-based John Akomfrah is presenting a new film project he’s been continuously working on since March 2020 at Lisson Gallery. It’s an “archive of today, made in real-time.” Inaugural solo exhibitions of Chicago photographer Dawoud Bey and Los Angeles artist Calida Rawles are featured at Sean Kelly and...
The Week in Black Art, March 1-7, 2021: Two Museums Will Acquire Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor, Text From Obama Speech Will Grace Facade of Presidential Museum
This post will be updated with the latest news in Black art throughout the week AMY SHERALD (b. 1973), “Breonna Taylor,” 2020 (oil on linen, 137.2 x 109.2 cm / 54 x 43 inches). | © Amy Sherald. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Joseph Hyde March 7, 2021...
Tate Museums are Reopening July 27. New Exhibitions are Delayed, Including Surveys of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Zanele Muholi
AFTER JOINING A CHORUS of museums around the world that closed temporarily in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Tate in London announced its reopening plans. All four Tate galleries are opening to the public July 27. The pause in operations resulted in a shift in exhibition schedules and six-month delays for...
New in 2020: African American Art Books Explore the Work of Ming Smith, Noah Davis, Horace Pippin, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and More
DOZENS OF PUBLICATIONS documenting the work of artists of African descent are scheduled to be published this year. Volumes dedicated to Noah Davis, Jordan Casteel, and Zanele Muholi coincide with major first-time exhibitions. Others are long-awaited volumes surveying the careers of established artists, such as Ming Smith, Samuel Fosso, and Richard Mayhew. The monographs...
The Year Ahead in African American Art: What to See and Do in 2020
THE YEAR IN BLACK ART is off to a fascinating start. In January, Helen Molesworth organized a Noah Davis (1983-2015) exhibition at David Zwirner gallery in New York, a rare look at more than 20 paintings by the late Los Angeles-based artist and founder of the Underground Museum. The Johnson Publishing Company art collection...
Latest News in African American Art: Artist Selection for J. Marion Sims Replacement Monument Goes Sideways, 2021 Whitney Biennial Curators Announced & More
VINNIE BAGWELL, Rendering for “Victory Beyond Sims,” 2019. Bagwell’s proposal envisioning a “majestic angel” to replace the Central Park monument to J. Marion Sims was favored by representatives of the community and ultimately emerged as the city’s official choice. | Courtesy the artist ACQUISITIONS Eleven works from South African artist Zanele Muholi‘s “Faces and...
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art is Showcasing Women Artists, a Group Vastly Underrepresented in its Collection
“Liberal Women Protest March I” (1995) by Nike Davies-Okundaye of Nigeria THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART is celebrating women artists. Over the past five years, the Smithsonian museum has doubled its holdings of art by women. Showcasing some of the recent acquisitions, “I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa,” opened in June. The...
Hail the Dark Lioness: Zanele Muholi’s Exhibition of Striking Self-Portraits Opens at the Seattle Art Museum Tomorrow
THE SEATTLE ART MUSEUM is presenting an ongoing series of self-portraits by South African photographer Zanele Muholi. Opening July 10, “Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness” features 76 black-and-white portraits and large-scale photographic wall papers. The series reimagines so-called classic portraiture and re-articulates notions of race, representation, and identity. Muholi’s own face and body...
Culture Type Picks: 18 Best Black Art Books of 2018
The best illustrated black art books of 2018. | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine THE INCREASED INTEREST among some museums in mounting exhibitions featuring the work of African American artists has translated into a growing number of catalogs published to document them, which is wonderful. Many of those catalogs made Culture Type’s 2018 list...
Art Basel Miami Beach 2018: Select Galleries Throughout the Mega Fair are Showing Works By African and African American Artists, Here’s Where to Find Them
“In My Solitude” (2018) by Billie Zangewa at Blank Projects. ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH (ABMB) opens to the public today. The 17th edition of the art fair features more than 250 galleries from 35 countries in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. The enthusiasm surrounding ABMB has infused the entire city over the...
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Dec. 3, 2017
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. Pérez Art Museum Miami is among 20 institutions benefitting from diversity initiative supported by Ford and Walton Family foundations. $6 Million Initiative Aims to Diversify...
Battleground States: Art is Winning in Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Political Powerhouses Where Must-See Exhibitions are on View
THE FINAL DAYS OF THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION are playing out in a handful of states, battlegrounds with key electoral votes likely to determine the outcome of a hard fought, stranger-than-fiction race for the White House. There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 270 are needed to win. The campaigns of Hillary...
Off the Beaten Path: From Cleveland to Durham, N.C., 19 Must-See Exhibitions Featuring African American Artists
Kara Walker’s work is on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art; A massive Nick Cave installation open at MASS MoCA Oct. 15. BEYOND NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, AND CHICAGO, there are major U.S. museums and innovative art institutions presenting the work of world-renowned artists. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is one of...
The Year in Black Art: May 2015
CULTURE TYPE IS REVIEWING The Year in Black Art 2015 in monthly installments over the coming weeks. The report began with a look at The Newsmakers, seven artists and curators who continue to advance their practices and their projects with fresh approaches and new ideas—efforts that are recognized and often garner significant news coverage. The...
Art Agenda | Sept. 8-14, 2014
ART AGENDA LISTS UPCOMING EVENTS, must-see exhibition openings and interesting talks happening this week in black art. Today’s edition features a Carrie Mae Weems talk in Brooklyn, a conversation with Nick Cave about his new monograph, exhibitions featuring Chakaia Booker, Kehinde Wiley, Derrick Adams, Fahamou Pecou and more: Monday, Sept. 15, 2014 DEADLINE...
