At the Seattle Art Fair in the summer of 2016, the Togolese artist Clay Apenouvon wrapped the booth of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, a local black-owned contemporary art space, in ripped-up black plastic bags. Inside this installation (entitled Film Noir, 2016) were partially visible works by the gallery’s artists of African descent, including photographs by the African-American self-portraitist Ayana V. Jackson.
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An Intimate History of America | The Paris Review
We made our way through the exhibitions that document the state-sanctioned violence black people experienced over the course of generations, pausing to study the images and take in their explanations
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5 Black Artists Discuss Breaking Down Barriers | Format Magazine
We asked 5 black artists to speak about their experiences as a person of color within the creative community. What the biggest barriers for black artists in 2016? What steps are necessary to break those barriers down?
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Basquiat Left School at 17—and Made New York Museums His Classroom | Artsy
By the time Basquiat was included in the “Times Square Show,” he’d begun to talk about his influences: a pantheon of artist-heroes he’d encountered over many years of museum visits.
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The Obamas and the Inauguration of Black Painting’s New Golden Age In America | W Magazine
When the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., recently broke the news that Barack and Michelle Obama have chosen the portraitists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint them, respectively, into the halls of American history, it confirmed what we already knew: We have entered a new golden age of black painting.
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Championing Inclusivity: Melani N. Douglass | BmoreArt
Melani N. Douglass on her new role as Director of Public Programs at the NMWA: Interview by Angela N. Carroll
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Artist Transforms Abandoned Buildings In New Orleans With Powerful Art | Huffington Post
“We have to create the change we want to see,” says Brandan Odums.
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It’s Time We Listened to These Radical Women Artists | LA Weekly
To pursue something more ambitious professionally was to push against tightly held, deeply entrenched norms.
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Radcliffe Bailey: Made in Atlanta | Creative Loafing Atlanta
Lauded visual artist talks living and creating in the city
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The Perfect Woman to Paint Michelle Obama | The New York Times
It elevates a different kind of nuance in black portraiture, one that is even rarer: Ms. Sherald paints blackness that is quiet, ordinary and individual.
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