Stories
Long Time Collaborators Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy Unveil A Monumental Sculpture To Inspire Us To Come Together
Millions of travelers at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport are will now experience a large-scale installation by artists Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy. Installed above escalators in the airport’s Multi-Modal Facility and ...
In Conversation: The Artistic Odyssey of Moridja Kitenge Banza
In a conversation with Black Art and Design, Canadian-Congolese artist Moridja Kitenge Banza reflects on recent milestones in his career, including joining Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem and participating in the McCanna House Artist-in-Residence ...
Textile Artist Gary Tyler Wins 2024 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize
Gary Tyler has been awarded the 2024 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize for his textile art. This recognition comes with a $25,000 award and a solo presentation at Frieze Los Angeles, where he will showcase new works. This prize honors artists focusing ...
Ethiopia Names Tesfaye Urgessa for Its First-Ever National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Tesfaye Urgessa, an artist celebrated for his poignant and evocative paintings that explore themes of identity, displacement, and the human condition, has been selected to represent Ethiopia at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. This marks a historic ...
Architect Lesley Lokko to Receive Royal Gold Medal for Architecture
Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator and curator Lesley Lokko has been awarded one of the world’s highest honours in architecture – presented on behalf of His Majesty the King. The RIBA medal recognises Lokko’s commitment to championing diverse ...
Regen Projects Now Represents Artist Sable Elyse Smith
Regen Projects is pleased to announce representation of Sable Elyse Smith. Working in video, sculpture, photography, and text-based artworks, Smith draws attention to American systems of inequity. Her work focuses on the largely unseen ...
American Painter, Raymond Saunders joins David Zwirner
David Zwirner, in collaboration with Andrew Kreps Gallery, announces their joint representation of esteemed American artist Raymond Saunders. The partnership coincides with the unveiling of a two-part solo exhibition titled "Post No Bills," curated ...
Stan Squirewell, My Buddy & Me, 2023
Stan Squirewell My Buddy & Me, 2023 Cut photograph collage mounted on canvas, oil, and glitter in hand carved shou sugi ban frame 80 x 52 x 2 in Artist Profile Stan Squirewell Artist Bio ...
Auudi Dorsey, Blue Collar Brotha, 2023
Auudi Dorsey Blue Collar Brotha, 2023 Acrylic on canvas.150 x 120 cm Artist Profile Claudette Johnson ARTIST BIO ...
In Conversation: Kambui Olujimi Explores The Mythic Space of Depression Era Dance Marathons in ‘All I Got to Give’
Amidst the dynamic backdrop of Los Angeles's contemporary art scene, Kambui Olujimi's exhibition "All I Got to Give" at Vielmetter Los Angeles emerges as an exploration of resilience, history, and the human condition. This exhibition marks Olujimi's ...
Highly Acclaimed Artist Radcliffe Bailey Dies At The Age of 54
The art world mourns the loss of Radcliffe Bailey, a world-renowned artist who passed away at the age of 54 in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. Known for his mesmerizing works that elegantly summoned the past, present, and future of Black Americans, ...
White Cube Now Represents American Sculptor Richard Hunt
White Cube has recently announced its global representation of American sculptor Richard Hunt, marking a significant moment for both the gallery and the artist. Known for his thought-provoking sculptures, Hunt will make his debut at Art Basel Miami ...
In Conversation with Angèle Etoundi Essamba: A Journey Through Black & White
In the vibrant world of contemporary art, few voices resonate as powerfully as that of Angèle Etoundi Essamba. I had the distinct privilege of delving into the artistic mind behind 'Africanesse'—a striking exhibition showcasing a collection of ...
Stan Squirewell on Reframing History in His Solo Show at Claire Oliver Gallery
In the ever-evolving world of contemporary art, multi-media artist Stan Squirewell's work transcends traditional boundaries. Merging historical narratives with a bold, modern perspective, Squirewell's art offers a profound commentary on identity, ...
Otobong Nkanga Awarded $100,000 Nasher Prize for Sculpture
The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas has awarded Antwerp-based artist Otobong Nkanga its Nasher Prize, which comes with $100,000 and an exhibition at the museum. Nkanga’s exhibition, which will be accompanied by a monograph, will ...
Jerron Herman On Art & The Joy Of Advocacy
Jerron Herman is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York City creating through dance, text, and visual storytelling. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jerron began his career pursuing performance and ...
BK Adams On His Debut Show ‘Five Miles,’ at Harlem’s Claire Oliver Gallery
Philosopher and artist BK Adams' debut solo exhibition at the esteemed Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem, NY, represents a pivotal milestone in his artistic journey—a goal he firmly etched on his studio wall as early as 2008. It was a distinct honour ...
Zana Masombuka On Her Ndebele Heritage and Preserving Black Joy
South African artist Zana Masombuka's works inspired by her Ndebele heritage are challenging and reframing conversations about the place of tradition in the modern world. Her works are rich tapestries of traditional Ndebele lore, deeply influenced by ...
Kwadwo A. Asiedu On Bridging Nature, Art and Environmental Consciousness
As a self-taught artist and photographer, Kwadwo A. Asiedu's journey into the realm of art may be considered untraditional. For years, Kwadwo served as a Soil Health Project Manager after earning a master’s degree in environmental management. ...
9 Los Angeles Exhibitions by Black Artists to See In August 2023
We’ve curated a list of 9 shows that offer new ways to experience Black art & culture in the City of Angels, from Honor Titus's new artworks at Gagosian that reframe formal social traditions by depicting people of color in the contexts of leisure ...
Ibrahim Mahama Explores Ghana-Yugoslavia Connections at Ljubljana Biennale
Last year Ghanaian author and artist Ibrahim Mahama was announced as Artistic Director of the thirty-fifth iteration of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts. The event that opens in Slovenia on the 21 of September, titled " From the void came ...
Grace Wales Bonner will curate MoMA’a “Artist Choice Show”
London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner has been tapped to curate the sixteenth iteration of the Museum of Modern Art’s Artist’s Choice exhibition series. The designer will select fifty works from the New York institution’s collection which will ...
New Gallery Space BWO Opens in Cameroon
Cameroon's burgeoning contemporary art scene is gaining global recognition, with its vibrant blend of traditional motifs and contemporary themes striking a chord on the international stage. Notably, Cameroonian artists have graced global platforms ...
Family of poet Gboyega Odubanjo launch fundraiser to start foundation
The family of the award-winning poet Gboyega Odubanjo have raised more than £36,000 to help launch a foundation in his memory. Odubanjo went missing at a music festival last week, and officers investigating his disappearance found a body on ...
Jailed Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Pens Op-Ed From Prison
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a Cuban artist and leader of the activist San Isidro Movement (MSI), is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for using “insulting symbols of the homeland” in his work. The artist has written an opinion ...
5 Art Shows to See in Accra, Ghana This Summer
In recent years, Ghana’s art scene has begun to thrive with artists like Amoako Boafo, Ibrahim Mahama, and El Anatsui gaining international recognition and increasingly high sales prices. From traditional craftsmanship to ...
10 Art Shows by to See in New York This July
In this article, we will guide you through the captivating art scene of New York City, highlighting ten unmissable art shows happening this July. As the city awakens from its slumber, galleries and exhibition spaces burst with life, showcasing a ...
20 Art Shows to See in London This Summer
Summer is a great time of year to enjoy London’s arts and culture scene. Below is a list of indoor shows, outdoor installations, and art events to help you plan your summer. Carrie Mae Weems: Reflections For Now Barbican Art Gallery ...
Architect Sir David Adjaye Steps Away From Major Roles Amidst Misconduct Allegations
Acclaimed Ghanaian British architect Sir David Adjaye has stepped away from a number of roles after The Financial Times reported that three former employees accused him and his firm of different forms of exploitation — from alleged sexual assault and ...
Lubaina Himid Awarded 2023 Maria Lassnig Prize
Lubaina Himid, a visionary artist known for her profound exploration of themes such as colonialism, slavery, identity, and gender, has been awarded the prestigious Maria Lassnig Prize. This mid-career artist award, now in its fourth edition, ...
Yinka Ilori’s Parables for Happiness Offers Us a Glimpse Into His World
In the bustling streets of London, a vibrant and captivating exhibition has taken place at the Design Museum. 'Parables for Happiness' is a celebration of the creative inspiration and journey of British designer Yinka Ilori who blends his Nigerian ...
Hew Locke Leaves Us With More Questions Than Answers In ‘The Ambassadors’
Over the years Guyanese-British sculptor Hew Locke has captivated audiences with his thought-provoking works that challenge traditional notions of power, identity, and history. His latest exhibition, The Ambassadors, currently on display at The Lowry ...
An Arthropodal Furniture Collection by Designer Omotunwase Osinaike Channels The Allegorical Artefacts Of Africa’s Forest Region
Guided by an intention to promote and advance the traditions of the forest region of Africa, this sculptural furniture piece by London-based artist Omotunwase Osinaike offers a sensual interpretation of life in an area rich in culture and ...
Beauty and Power are Woven Into Iconic Hair Structures by Laetitia Ky
Ivorian artist Laetitia Ky creates thought-provoking hair sculptures that embody African identity and promote activism. As a child Ky transformed her Barbie dolls' straight strands into curly extensions that resembled her own hair. As Laetitia later ...
Egypt Bans Dutch Archaeologists Over Afrocentric Exhibition
The archaeological community was recently taken aback by the news that a team of Dutch archaeologists from the Leiden National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands has been banned from conducting future excavations in the Saqqara necropolis. This ...
A Host Venue at Portugal’s Photography Biennial Removes Installation That Highlights It’s Links To Slavery
The Porto Photography Biennial, a distinguished photography celebration held annually in Portugal, recently staged a thought-provoking exhibition that garnered significant attention. This showcase, dubbed "Vento (A)mar," was conceptualized by ...
Sudan’s National Museum Reportedly Taken Over by Paramilitary Forces
Sudan National Museum, the largest museum in the country, has reportedly been raided by Raid Support Forces members Staff had been unable to work inside the building since the conflict broke out on April 15, leaving the museum vulnerable to ...
12-Foot Bronze Sculpture by British Artist Thomas J. Price Unveiled in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Thomas J Price, a prominent British contemporary artist, has recently unveiled a new public sculpture in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This monumental bronze artwork, titled "Moments Contained," can be found in front of Rotterdam's Central Station and ...
Artist and Professor, Shellyne Rodriguez, Arrested In New York
On the 25 of May New York-based artist and former Hunter College professor Shellyne Rodriguez was arrested following a confrontation with New York Post reporter Reuven Fenton after he showed up to her home unannounced and allegedly pounded on her ...
Dr. Esther Mahlangu: Where Two Rivers Meet
Dr Esther Mahlangu is globally acclaimed for her bright and bold abstract paintings with vivid, geometric patterns that are rooted in Ndebele artistic tradition, a South African community. She was a disruptor from an early age, becoming the first ...
10 ft High Sculpture by Tschabalala Self Defaced In Seaside UK Village
Last week Monday, vandals defaced New York-based artist Tschabalala Self’s “Seated” (2022), a 10-foot tall public sculpture of a seated Black woman facing the sea off the coast of Southern England. The bronze sculpture currently located on the ...
In Vivid Surreal Portraits, Aïda Muluneh Borrows Visual Language From Religious Iconography to Explore Politics and Identity
For her new series of public art installations presented over 330 bus shelters across the United States, and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire , Ivory Coast based photographer Aïda Muluneh drew inspiration from Ethiopian poet Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin’s “This is ...
Black Art & Design Spring 2023 London Art Guide
Spring is a season of rejuvenation and renewal, and what better way to celebrate it than by exploring London's vibrant art scene. The city is home to some of the most renowned museums and galleries in the world, and this spring, they are showcasing ...
Salah Elmur, the Cairo-based Sudanese artist, has a unique perspective on the structures that house water and electricity.
Salah Elmur, the Cairo-based Sudanese artist, has a unique perspective on the structures that house water and electricity. As a child, he was filled with wonder and excitement when the Central Electricity and Water Administration came to his village. ...
Towering Logs Balance Weight and Space in Hand-Carved Wooden Sculptures by Thaddeus Mosley
With his chisel, Mosley exalts the warm tones and woodgrain which lay beneath the outer tree bark. His dimensions vary, ranging from monumental to modest, rounded to angular, vaulted to hovering just above the ground. Their presence is determined by ...
Watercolour Paper Portraits by YoYo Lander Celebrates Self Love in A Big Romance
Fine artist Yo Yo Lander captures her portrait subjects in their most natural and honest states in her, A Big Romance series. The Los Angeles based artist photographs each person then combines them to express a definitive image. Lander recreates her ...
Khanyisile Mbongwa to curate the Liverpool Biennial in 2023
Cape Town-based curator, artist and sociologist Khanyisile Mbongwa has been announced as the organizer of the Twelfth Liverpool Biennial, to take place from June to September 2023. Mbongwa, who most recently served as chief curator for the ...
Belinda Zhawi on Creativity and Rest
Belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean born writer, sound artist & educator based in London. Her work explores Afro-diasporic research & narratives; how art & education can be used as intersectional tools. She was the 2016/17 Institute of ...
Daniela Yohannes
Daniela Yohannes (b. 1982) lives and works in Guadeloupe, in the French Caribbean. Yohannes’ latest body of work is a response to contemporary migration discourse, rendered through a personal, emotive, and Diasporic lens. These paintings meditate on ...
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is an American artist best known for his portraits that render people of colour in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings. Most famously, in 2017, he was commissioned to paint Barack Obama, becoming the first Black artist to ...
Márcia Falcão
When looking at Márcia Falcão's recent paintings, perhaps the one element that draws the spectator's attention most is the floors onto which her narratives unfold. They are often red and fragmented as if we were looking at the representation of ...
Lubaina Himid
This large-scale exhibition will debut recent work and include selected highlights from Lubaina Himid’s influential career. Taking inspiration from her interest in theatre, the exhibition will unfold in a sequence of scenes designed to place ...
Toni Morrison’s Black Book Curated by Hilton Als
David Zwirner is pleased to announce a group exhibition curated by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author, critic, and curator Hilton Als. On view at the gallery’s West 19th Street spaces, the exhibition will focus on the enormous output and cultural ...
Alison Saar
Alison Saar has developed a body of work consisting of sculptures, engravings and paintings focused mainly on black female identity in the United States. She was born into a family of artists–her father Richard Saar is a renowned ceramicist and the ...
Body Vessel Clay
In our 10th annual exhibition, Two Temple Place will showcase the ceramic medium through artworks by three generations of Black women artists working in clay. The Art Newspaper is already calling it, “…one of the most eagerly anticipated ...
Roy DeCarava: Selected Works
David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of photographs by Roy DeCarava (1919–2009) at its London location. This will be the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in London in over thirty years and the first presentation of his ...
Being More Yourself
Musician, artist and creative, Sarina Leah reflects on the last year, resilience, leaning into yourself and truly being more yourself. 2020 was quite a year. A part of my illustrative work is centred on wellbeing however I noticed ...
Meet London-based Director, Artist and Storyteller Leian John-Baptiste.
Meet Leian John-Baptiste Meet London-based Director, Artist and Storyteller Leian John-Baptiste. BA&D: Tell us a bit about yourself. LJB: I’m an Artist, Director & Storyteller who is ...
Ayanna Witter-Johnson On Intention And Purpose As An Artist
Singer, songwriter, cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson is the rare exception to the rule that classical and alternative RnB music cannot successfully coexist. Graduating with a first from both Trinity Laban ...
Victoria Adukwei Bulley On Feeling More ‘Possible’ In This World
Victoria Adukwei Bulley is a poet, writer and artist. An alumna of the Barbican Young Poets, her work has appeared widely in publications including The Poetry Review, the London Review of Books and Chicago Review, in addition to featuring ...
Could Art Be The Antidote We Need Right Now?
Could art be the antidote we need right now? Abigail Sewell, Theatre and Film Director and Co-founder of Uproot, a socially driven cross-arts production company, explores the intentionality and connectedness of creativity. The impact of the ...
Asif Khan, Mariam Kamara, David Adjaye and Theaster Gates to redevelop Liverpool waterfront
Architects Asif Khan, Mariam Kamara and David Adjaye and artist Theaster Gates are set to transform Liverpool's Canning Dock in a project aiming to bring the history of the transatlantic slave trade into the ...
Artists Jordan Casteel Among the 2021 Winners of the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Awards
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the newest class of 25 fellows to be awarded the MacArthur “Genius” grant, one of America’s most coveted accolades which comes with an unrestricted gift of $625,000. Among the 2021 ...
Yale Center for British Art tries to identify enslaved child in 18th-century portrait
A year ago this month, when it was still closed to the public because of the pandemic, the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) took a major step toward interrogating a controversial 18th-century group portrait in its collection centering on an early ...
At Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021 Vacant Lots Are Turned Into Stages For Experimental Design.
Addis Fine Art Gallery To Open Space In London
Block Party by Studio Barnes in collaboration with Shawhin Roudbari and MAS Context Studio Barnes created two structures on a plot in North Lawndale that are "born from Chicago's rich history of annual block parties". The first is ...
Fashion Retailer Asos Publishes First Ethnicity Pay Gap Data
Multibrand retailer Asos has released its first Ethnicity Pay Gap (EPG) data report, stating the 2021 median pay for ethnic minorities is 5.9 percent higher than their White counterparts. According to the report, the result is a 21.2 percent ...
Yinka Shonibare sculptures sold to fund fellowship for Black and POC curators at V&A East
British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has created a special edition of 50 sculptures to help support a 12-18 month fellowship for a Black or POC curator. The Emerging Curators Fellowship, produced by Frieze and supported by Deutsche Bank, "aims ...
Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Is Jointly Acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art
Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye has been acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, marking the first time the museums have jointly bought a work. It is also the first acquisition of a ...
Los Angeles Theatre Commits To BIPOC Artists After Playwright Jeremy O. Harris Pulls Show Over Lack Of Representation
"As an Angeleno and a lover of theatre, I think Los Angeles audiences deserve an equitable showing of the playwrights working in the U.S. right now." In October playwright Jeremy O Harris announced that he would begin the process of removing his ...
Isolde Brielmaier Named Deputy Director of New Museum
Stephen Friedman Gallery in London now represents Canadian artist Tau Lewis.
An Alabama Quilting Collective Receives $250K to Build a Museum
The Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, a nonprofit in Alberta, Alabama, has received a $250,000 grant from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation and Community Partnership to build a museum honoring the legacy of a historical quilting collective that ...
Art Dealer Nicole Vasell Opens Gallery In Manhattan
Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung to Lead Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, one of the most closely watched curators working in Germany today, will soon lead one of the country’s most important contemporary art museums. The Berlin-based curator will be the next director of the Haus der ...
Sculptor Simone Leigh is Representing the United States at 2022 Venice Biennale
Simone Leigh will represent the US at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, making her the first Black woman to secure the prestigious commission. Leigh was selected by theU.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Her ...
A London Museum Wants to Relocate a Statue of Its Slave-Trader Founder
London’s Geffrye Museum has changed its name to the Museum of Home, but the institution’s statue of former namesake Robert Geffrye, an English merchant and slave trader, is still a source of controversy—and the government is preventing the ...
RELEASE OF DISSIDENT CUBAN ARTIST
Artists Dawoud Bey, Theaster Gates, John Akomfrah, Julie Mehretu, and Carrie Mae Weems are among those calling for the release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who has been in police custody at a hospital in Havana for over three weeks. The Cuban ...
KASMIN NOW REPRESENTS VANESSA GERMAN
Vanessa German, whose practice spans installation, photography, performance, sculpture, assemblage, and more, has joined Kasmin, which will present her work at Art Basel OVR: Portals and its High Line Nine space in New York this month. german ...
PRESTON PAVLIS REPRESENTED BRADLEY
Bradley Ertaskiran is delighted to announce the representation of Preston Pavlis. His first solo exhibition, titled Still ready to curse and rage, will take place from June 23 to July 31, 2021, in the bunker space. Preston ...
Christina Quarles Joins Hauser & Wirth
Los Angeles–based artist Christina Quarles, who is known for exploring notions of identity through her brightly colored painting of segmented and contorted bodies, has joined Hauser & Wirth. The mega-gallery will represent the artist in ...
Curator Joy Bivins Is Named New Director
By Colin MoynihanJune 4, 2021 Joy Bivins, who joined the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem last year, has been named director of the center. Bivins joined the Schomburg — a division of the New York Public Library and ...
Sonya Clark: Tatter, Bristle, and Mend
Textile and social practice artist Sonya Clark (b. 1967) is renowned for her mixed-media works that address race and visibility, explore Blackness, and redress history. This exhibition—the first survey of Clark’s 25-year career—includes the artist’s ...
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ‘Untitled’ 1985 Leads Sotheby’s Jay Chou–Curated Sale in Hong Kong
His top pick, Untitled, features a Black warrior, common to Basquiat works, and the Aztec warrior symbol of a jaguar side-by-side.. Basquiat (1960-88) posed in front of the masterwork for a photograph featured on the cover of The New York ...
Sanford Biggers unveils monolithic sculpture at Rockefeller Plaza
Oracle is a continuation of Biggers’ recent Chimera sculptures, a series of figurative sculptures created by combining African masks and European figures that explore historical depictions of the body and their subsequent myths, narratives, ...
Igshaan Adams
Kicking Dust Adams' cross-disciplinary practice combines aspects of weaving, sculpture and installation whilst exploring concerns related to race, religion and sexuality. Drawing on the material and formal iconographies of Islam, his ...
Joyce Foundation Names 2021 Joyce Awards Recipients
The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has revealed the 2021 recipients of its annual Joyce Awards, which support emerging and mid-career BIPOC artists and arts organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and ...
Chester Higgins
The exhibition Chester Higgins: The Indelible Spirit at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery charts the early course of Higgins’s journey from the late 1960s through the 1990s with a selection of images that highlight his career from his ...
Guggenheim Museum Appoints Naomi Beckwith As Deputy Director and Chief Curator
New York’s Guggenheim Museum has announced the appointment of Naomi Beckwith as deputy director and chief curator. Ms. Beckwith, currently the senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, will replace Nancy Spector, ...
Upstate New York Village Wants Nick Cave Artwork Removed
When American artist Nick Cave created the 160-foot-long, 25-foot tall art piece, "Truth Be Told", on the facade of The School, an art space operated by Jack Shainman Gallery in Kinderhook, New York, he hoped to inspire a conversation ...
Santiago Mostyn- Your Shadow is a Mirror
Press Release It is with great pleasure we announce the opening of Your Shadow is a Mirror, Santiago Mostyn's second solo-exhibition at the gallery, opening on Thursday 7 January between 2–8 pm. Santiago Mostyn (b. 1981) makes films, ...
Tschabalala Self- Cotton Mouth
Press Release Eva Presenhuber is delighted to present Cotton Mouth, an exhibition of new works by the American artist Tschabalala Self. Cotton Mouth is Self’s debut solo exhibition with Eva Presenhuber and features paintings, ...
Amsterdam Museum Will No Longer Use “Golden Age” to Describe Dutch Colonial Past
The Netherlands in the 17th Century was a global empire that sprawled its tentacles in many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America. An economic power, it led the world in science and art achievements for more than a century, a period that was ...
Zoé Whitley, Curator Behind Acclaimed ‘Soul of a Nation’, Named Director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery
Zoé Whitley, senior curator at the Hayward Gallery in London, has been appointed director of Chisenhale Gallery in the city’s East End. Whitley will take the helm of the contemporary arts space, which prides itself on commissioning and supporting ...
A Sculpture Of An Italian Right-Wing Politician Shooting African Migrants Goes On Display In Naples
A sculpture depicting Italian right-wing politician Matteo Salvini shooting two African migrants has received heavy criticism by the politician. The piece, titled La pacchia è finita! (the free ride is over), is by the Italian artist Salvatore ...
British curator, Gus Casely-Hayford to Lead V&A’s New East London museum
The curator, cultural historian and broadcaster Gus Casely-Hayford has been appointed as the inaugural director of V&A East, the new museum complex being created by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in east London. Casely-Hayford is ...
Curator Sepake Angiama Joins London-Based Institute for International Visual Arts As Artistic Director
Sepake Angiama will join the Institute for International Visual Arts, a London–based organization that commissions new works and offers a residency program, as its artistic director in January. Sepake joins Iniva during its 25th year, ...
National Portrait Gallery In London To Close For Three Years For Refurbishment
The National Portrait Gallery is to close for nearly three years when building work begins on a top-to-bottom £35.5m redevelopment of its 123-year-old London home in June 2020. The announcement comes as a surprise. When the revamp was ...
George Lucas’s Museum of Narrative Art Hires Sandra Jackson-Dumont as Its New Director
On Wednesday the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced Sandra Jackson-Dumont as its new director and chief executive officer. She comes to L.A. from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where since 2014 she headed public programs, community ...
A British Museum Will Return Artefacts To Indigenous Australians
Manchester Museum is returning 43 ceremonial objects from the UK under an Australian government-funded project to repatriate items of cultural heritage 250 years after Captain James Cook’s voyage. The first artefacts, ranging from traditional ...
After Public Criticism, New York’s Central Park Adds Sojourner Truth to Sculpture Honouring Women’s Rights Pioneers
Monumental Women Statue Fund successfully put forth a design for a statue of American suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. But not everyone was pleased with the result. The statue drew criticism from those ...
Baltimore Museum Of Art Hires Art Historian Jessica Bell Brown as Curator Of Its Contemporary Art Department.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced today that it has created two new staff positions in its contemporary art department. . Jessica Bell Brown, who most recently served as a consulting curator at the New York nonprofit the Gracie Mansion ...
Week In Review: Ben Enwonwu’s Painting sells for 1.1 Million, Instagram Holds Talks With Artists Over Its Nudity Policy
Over 200 prominent artists, scholars, and critics signed an open letter entreating New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) and its board member Larry Fink to end their investments in private prison companies. Protesters gathered outside the Museum of ...
Autistic Artist Kambel Smith Creates Large-Scale Sculptures Representing Iconic Works Of Architecture
Born in 1986, Philadelphia artist Kambel Smith was diagnosed with autism when he was eight years old. At age fifteen, a Christmas gift changed his life forever. An easel and painting supplies revealed his amazing artistic talent. Kambel ...
The Niceties- A Play That Confronts Race & Revolution Finishes Its Run In London
Originally premiered at the Huntington Theatre, Boston, before transferring to Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, The Niceties marks the European debut of a stunning new American playwright, Eleanor Burgess. America. 2016. Within the ...
Looted 18th Century Ethiopian Crown to return home from Netherlands
A priceless 18th-century Ethiopian crown is set to be returned from the Netherlands to Addis Ababa after Sirak Asfaw, a Dutch civil servant who was born in Ethiopia, stumbled upon the crown in a suitcase left behind by one of his visitor and hid ...
Instagram Holds Closed-Door Talks With Artists Over Its Nudity Policy
On Monday Instagram held a closed-door discussion in New York with 20 artists, curators, and activists over its current moderation policies regarding nudity and artworks. The private discussion, which included both prominent and emerging artists ...
A Paris Artist Colony For Exiled Refugees Forced To Look For A New Home
After being forced by Paris City Hall to leave its Montmartre studio in June L’Atelier des Artistes en Exile moved into a 3,200-square-foot space to support about 200 exiled artists from around the world. Now, it will have to vacate its current ...
Sharon Watson, Artistic Director Of The UK’s Phoenix Dance Theatre Honoured In London.
In a ceremony earlier this week at St Paul’s Leonardo Royal Hotel The Black British Business Awards honoured the contributions of 17 leaders across six sectors that are impacting British Economy. “Being a winner is an emotional, but ...
Dawoud Bey, Iconic Civil Rights History Photographer, Joins Sean Kelly Gallery
Dawoud Bey, the Queens-based photographer who was previously represented by Mary Boone Gallery, has joined the roster of Sean Kelly in New York. He’ll have his first show at the Hudson Yards gallery in the winter of 2020. Bey, who was named a ...
Activists Disrupt Private Party at Museum of Modern Art in NYC to Demand Prison Divestment
Last Friday night at an exclusive preview party in New York hosted by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to celebrate the reopening of its $450 million refurbished galleries about 150 organisers and artists, managed to disrupt the event full of ...
Adrienne Edwards Will Co-Curate the 2021 Whitney Biennial
Earlier this month the Whitney Museum of American Art announced the names of the two curators in charge of organising the museum’s next Biennial, which will take place in 2021. The curators are David Breslin and Adrienne Edwards, ...
Yoruba Prince Yemisi Shyllon has donated more than 1,000 works of art to establish Nigeria’s first privately funded university museum.
With a donation of more than 1,000 works of Nigerian art, Prince Yemisi Shyllon is establishing the country’s first privately funded university museum. The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA), which opens on Saturday at Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) ...
American Artist Arthur Jafa Wins International Prize For Contemporary Art
The Prince Pierre Foundation in Monaco has awarded Arthur Jafa the 2019 Prix International d’Art Contemporain (PIAC), or international prize for contemporary art. The American artist was selected for his video work Love Is the Message, The ...
Mary Sibande: ‘If South Africans didn’t get angry, nothing would get done’
I Came Apart at the Seamhttps://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/mary-sibande-i-came-apart-at-the-seams follows the transformative journey of Sibande’s avatar, Sophie. Taking form as a series of colourful human-scale sculptures modelled on Sibande ...
London Art Gallery Announces Recipient Of The 2019 Camden Arts Centre Emerging Artist Prize
The London Contemporary Art Gallery Camden Arts Centre has announced French-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet as the recipient of the 2019 Camden Arts Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze. Creuzet, who is represented by High Art, Paris, will ...
Jessye Norman, International Opera Star, Dies Aged 74
Jessye Norman thrilled the opera world for decades, with a voice that has always been described in superlative terms: shimmering, rapturous, sumptuous, magnificent. The soprano who won accolades while helping artists of colour see a place for ...
The Louvre Will Train Refugees As Museum Tour Guides.
In 2015, 19 refugees in Berlin were recruited and trained as museum guides to provide native-language tours for fellow refugees, with the aim of helping newly arrived people foster connections between Germany’s cultural heritage and their own. The ...
Artist Mildred Thompson Headlines Fall Exhibition at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta
The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art has launched its 2019-2020 exhibition season with the Atlanta premiere of "Mildred Thompson: The Atlanta Years, 1986 – 2003" on view Wednesday, Sept. 11 through Saturday, ...
Denzil Forrester unveils Brixton underground station commission
Art on the Underground commissioned Grenada-born, British artist Denzil Forrester to create a large-scale public artwork for Brixton station, on view from 19 September 2019 until September 2020. Forrester is the third commission in a new series at ...
Osei Bonsu Takes Over As Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art of Africa At Tate Modern.
As museums across the world attempt to diversify their staffs and internationalize their exhibition programs, Tate Modern in London has brought on new curators of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian art. Last week the London gallery announced ...
Legendary Rapper Q-Tip’s Personal Art Collection Will Go on View at Bonhams Auction House in New York
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip member of the iconic hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest — has loaned his personal art collection for public view for the first time. The 13 pieces will be featured in a ...
Frieze London appoints Eva Langret as new artistic director
Frieze London has announced that Eva Langret will take over as artistic director from Jo Stella-Sawicka. Langret joins Frieze from London gallery Tiwani Contemporary , where she curated Maren Hassinger’s first exhibition outside the US. ...
Cosmic Design And Non-Flammable Fabric Create Kermel Shirt Inspired by Afrofuturism Patterns from Senegal.
Selly Raby Kane is a clothing line created in 2008 by Senegalese designer Selly Raby. The designs embody a mix of urban, Afro and pop. While offering contemporary clothing to the international fashion forward person, Selly Raby Kane’s signature is a ...
Explore Hassan Hajjaj’s World Of Colour, Pattern And People.
The Path by Hassan Hajjaj presents a unique and timely consideration of culture and identity in the modern, globalised world. Born in Morocco, Hajjaj moved to Britain aged 12. He works today between both countries. Hajjaj's artworks are ...
Obama Portrait Painter Kehinde Wiley Opens Up An Artist-In-Residence Programme At His Senegal Compound
The painter, following a headline-grabbing portrait commission of former U.S. president Barack Obama, has recently opened up Black Rock Senegal in Dakur. Wiley first visited Senegal when he was 19 years old, as he was visiting Nigeria in search ...
Congo Stars
The conceptual starting point for the exhibition is Fiston Mwanza Mujila's novel Tram 83, in which the author describes an imaginary place that starts from the social reality of Congolese metropolises but can not be concretely assigned to any ...
The Black Body As A Site Of Magic
Nigerian-Swedish photographer, Mikael Owunna uses fluorescent body paint and ultraviolet light to transform the black body into celestial beings, magical and otherworldly. Owunna says he grew weary of the barrage of violent, dehumanizing imagery of ...
Dance Performances in Historic Churches Revive Spiritual Histories
When choreographer Reggie Wilson debuted his work … they stood shaking while others began to shout at Danspace Projectin 2018, he cited an unusual source of inspiration: a Black Shaker eldress named Rebecca Cox ...
Nigeria And Tradition
In Capetown, WHATIFTHEWORLD presents e wá wo mi (*come look at me) – a new photographic series by Nigerian artist Lakin Ogunbanwo. Central to Ogunbanwo’s latest exploration, is the culture surrounding Nigerian brides and marriage ...
BLACK ART FUTURES FUND AWARDS $21,000 In GRANTS
Black Art Futures Fund (BAFF), a Brooklyn-based collective of emerging philanthropists who strive to promote and preserve black arts and culture, has announced the recipients of its spring 2019 grants, totaling $21,000. Established by DéLana R.A. ...
Painter Meleko Mokgosi Joins The Yale School Of Art As Associate Professor In Painting And Printmaking
Meleo Mokgosi, a native of Botswana, will join Yale in July from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, where he is assistant professor. According to the release, his approach is “positioned between cinema studies, ...
Queer And Comfortable In The American South
Growing up in the South isn’t easy. Not only do you have to deal with the overbearing humidity during the summers, but there’s also the sea of neighboring red states which blanket the United States map each election cycle, the conservative attitudes ...
London’s Tate Modern presents the first major retrospective of visual activist Zanele Muholi
Born in South Africa, Zanele Muholi came to prominence in the early 2000s with photographs that sought to envision black lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex lives beyond deviance or victimhood. Muholi’s work challenges ...
Yale Museum of British Art Chooses Courtney J. Martin As Its Director
The Yale Center for British Art announced Wednesday that it had named Courtney J. Martin as its new director. Ms. Martin is currently deputy director and chief curator of the Dia Art Foundation in New York. In an interview, Ms. Martin described ...
Young Ethiopian Photographers Changing the Gaze
Ethiopia is home to some of the fastest rates of development in the world and a changing political landscape. Two young local artists, Girma Berta (b. 1990) and Eyerusalem Jirenga (b. 1993) aim to tell its story through their photography. They ...
American Conceptual Artist Glenn Ligon is now represented by Hauser & Wigor
Born and raised in the Bronx, Glenn Ligon grew up taking art classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while learning about identity politics through the racism and discrimination toward homosexuality he encountered in New York. For the past few ...
International Art Gallery Gagosian now represents Nathaniel Mary Quinn
Last August, Nathaniel Mary Quinn wrote a powerful essay in Vogue about his childhood and the tragic experiences that shaped him. He described growing up in the Chicago projects, trading drawings for protection, about leaving for boarding school on ...
Contemporary African Art brings in $3 Million At Sotheby’s Auction in London
On Tuesday April 2nd, Sotheby’s fourth sale of Modern and Contemporary African Art in London amassed £2,316,625 / $3,023,196, creating new auction records for 11 artists in this category. Hassan El Glaoui Moroccan artist Hassan El Glaoui with ...
The Netherlands Taps Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung As ‘Artistic Director For Sonsbeek Exhibition in 2020
Ndikung was appointed by unanimous recommendation of an international selection committee. He is a curator, art critic, author, biotechnologist, and founder and artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin. Curator Charles Esche, a Sonsbeek ...
Galerie Lelong & Co. Now Represents Barthélémy Toguo
New York’s Galerie Lelong & Co. has added artist Barthélémy Toguo to its roster. The French-Cameroonian artist’s first show with the gallery, set to open on March 15, will be his first New York solo exhibition in a decade. Toguo, who is ...
This Weekend, 60 Philosophers and Artists will spend the night at The Brooklyn Library, exchanging ideas
The Brooklyn Public Library is partnering with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy to host their third annual edition of A Night of Philosophy and Ideas. This year’s theme, “Facing the Present,” will explore “the most pressing ...
Black Panthers Photography Exhibition revisits the controversial 1968 showing at San Francisco’s de Young Museum
In 1968, after meeting the wife of Party leader Eldridge Cleaver, husband and wife photographers Pirkle Jones and Ruth-Marion Baruch gained unprecedented access to the inner circle of the Black Panthers. From July to October of that year, Jones and ...
American Alliance of Museums Announces National Diversity Initiative
The American Alliance of Museums has announced a multimillion-dollar initiative to diversify museum leadership across the country. The project, “Facing Change: Advancing Museum Board Diversity & Inclusion,” will be supported by $4 million in ...
Nicole Mitchell Named Head Of Jazz Studies At University Of Pittsburgh.
The flutist and composer Nicole M. Mitchell, will lead the University of Pittsburgh’s storied jazz studies program, the school announced Monday. Mitchell also will be the director of the Jazz Studies Program and a professor in ...
New York City Ballet’s Art Series Presents Shantell Martin
The New York City Ballet has a long, storied history of collaborating with visual artists. Each year, the organisation invites an artist to create a site-specific art installation for its Lincoln Center home. Now in its seventh year, ...
Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “APESH*T” Video Helps The Louvre Break Attendance Record with 10.2 Million Visitors
Jay-Z and Beyoncé have long held a cultural prestige, influencing everything from fashion trends to language. According to a recent statement made by the Louvre museum in Paris, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed music video ...
Jean-Michel Basquiat Paintings To Be Offered at London Auction
It’s no secret that Interest in Jean-Michele Basquiat’s work has reached fever pitch. Last year Basquiat's Untitled (1982) was bought for $110.5 million, setting a new record for the highest price ever paid at auction for an American artist's work. ...
Smithsonian Museums Closed Until Further Notice
The US federal government's partial shutdown has forced the Smithsonian museums, including the National African American history museum in Washington DC, to close temporarily. President Trump met with congressional leaders at the White ...
Evian taps designer Virgil Abloh for Sustainable Innovation role
Virgil Abloh, menswear director of Louis Vuitton and creative director of his own line, Off White has been announced as Evian’s new creative advisor for Sustainable Innovation Design. Over the past few years Virgil, has become a force in fashion, ...
Artist Lina Iris Viktor and rapper Kendrick Lamar resolve Black Panther legal dispute
The British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor and the rapper Kendrick Lamar have settled their copyright infringement dispute on undisclosed terms. In February 2018 Viktor sued Lamar, SZA, Universal Music Group, and others involved in the ...
Red Bull Arts Detroit has selected their fellows and artists in residence
Red Bull Arts Detroit, which is funded by the Red Bull corporation, has selected nine artists-in-residence, six writing fellows, and one curatorial fellow to participate in their fellowship program. The residency will provide space, time, ...
The Met announces $70 million renovation to Africa, Oceania and Asian Wing
New York's Metropolitan Museum Of Art has revealed plans for the $70 million (£54 million) overhaul of the Michael C Rockefeller Wing, where it hosts its Art Of Africa, Oceania and The Americas Department. The gallery sit within a 40,000 square foot ...
David Adjaye, architect of the African-American History Museum, designs Brit Award 2019 trophy
British Architect David Adjaye swaps the traditional hourglass for a figure with "unique" proportions as he has designed the trophy for the winner of next year’s Brit Awards. Adjaye partnered with progressive Czech glassmaking and design company ...