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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

Lauren Haynes Named Head Curator of Governors Island in New York, She is Expected to Grow the Public Art Program

Lauren Haynes Named Head Curator of Governors Island in New York, She is Expected to Grow the Public Art Program

Governors Island: The Exchange (aerial view), show­ing the icon­ic forms designed to evoke the dra­mat­ic land­scapes and hills of the island with the skyscrapers that define Manhattan’s skyline in the background. | © SOM | Miysis via Governors Island   GOVERNORS ISLAND offers a quick escape from the city streets...
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Gish Prize Goes to Thelma Golden, Director of Studio Museum in Harlem is First Curator to Receive $250,000 Award

Gish Prize Goes to Thelma Golden, Director of Studio Museum in Harlem is First Curator to Receive $250,000 Award

THE 30TH ANNUAL Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize was awarded to Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem. A transformational figure in the world of art, for more than 35 years, Golden has provided a platform for Black artists as a curator, museum leader, mentor, and advocate. The prize was...
On View: Ceramic Sculptures by Magdalene Odundo at Gardiner Museum in Toronto: 'My Ultimate Goal is to Make a Form So Simple it Defies Explanation'

On View: Ceramic Sculptures by Magdalene Odundo at Gardiner Museum in Toronto: ‘My Ultimate Goal is to Make a Form So Simple it Defies Explanation’

Installation view “Magdalene Odundo: A Dialogue with Objects,” Gardiner Museum, Toronto, 2023. | Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid, Courtesy Gardiner Museum   THE GARDINER MUSEUM in Toronto acquired a carbonized terracotta vessel by Magdalene Odundo in 2006. A prime example of the renowned artist’s ceramic practice, the elegant, untitled work is defined by its feminine silhouette...
Julie Mehretu Painting Sells for $9.3 Million, Setting Auction Record For a Work by an African-Born Artist, Also New Benchmark For Black Female Artist Living or Dead

Julie Mehretu Painting Sells for $9.3 Million, Setting Auction Record For a Work by an African-Born Artist, Also New Benchmark For Black Female Artist Living or Dead

A LARGE-SCALE, ABSTRACT, two-part painting by Julie Mehretu set a new auction record. The untitled work made in 2001 sold earlier this month in the Contemporary Evening Auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for more than $9.3 million (HKD 72,979,000), establishing a new high-mark for an African-born artist. Mehretu was born in Ethiopia, grew up in...
On View: Deborah Roberts is Presenting Mixed-Media Collages that Consider Black Boyhood at SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico

On View: Deborah Roberts is Presenting Mixed-Media Collages that Consider Black Boyhood at SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico

Installation view of “Deborah Roberts: Come walk in my shoes,” SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, N.M., 2023. | Photo by Byron Flesher, Courtesy SITE Santa Fe   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE FIGURATIVE WORKS of Deborah Roberts focus on Black youth. Roberts assembles the collage works with found images—an eclectic mix...
On View: At Walker Art Center, Kahlil Robert Irving's Site-Specific Installation Reinterprets the Notion of Street Art

On View: At Walker Art Center, Kahlil Robert Irving’s Site-Specific Installation Reinterprets the Notion of Street Art

Installation view of “Kahlil Robert Irving: Archaeology of the Present,” Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minn., 2023. | Photo by Kameron Herndon for Walker Art Center   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE SCULPTURAL CERAMICS of Kahlil Robert Irving are not typical clay artworks. He makes replicas of everyday objects and assemblages incorporating...
Kerry James Marshall Donated Portrait of His Friend, Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., to University of Cambridge

Kerry James Marshall Donated Portrait of His Friend, Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., to University of Cambridge

HENRY LOUIS GATES JR., is a towering figure in the field of African American history and literature. He is closely associated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where he built his academic career and currently serves as Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Gates also...
Auction Record: 'Six Birds in the Bush' by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Reached $3.6 Million at Sotheby's London, Nearly Doubling Artist's Previous High Mark

Auction Record: ‘Six Birds in the Bush’ by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Reached $3.6 Million at Sotheby’s London, Nearly Doubling Artist’s Previous High Mark

  PORTRAYING A MAN who appears to have just turned his reluctant, yet penetrating gaze to the viewer, “Six Birds in the Bush” (2015) by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye set a new auction record for the British-Ghanaian artist at The Now Evening Auction at Sotheby’s London on Oct. 13. Bidding started at 850,000 pounds and blew past...
Theaster Gates Will Receive 2023 Vincent Scully Prize From National Building Museum, Honor Celebrates Excellence in Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Urban Design

Theaster Gates Will Receive 2023 Vincent Scully Prize From National Building Museum, Honor Celebrates Excellence in Architecture, Historic Preservation, and Urban Design

Theaster Gates is his Chicago studio, Sept. 29, 2020. | Photo by Lyndon French, Courtesy of Theaster Gates   The National Building Museum is honoring Theaster Gates and hosting a conversation with the artist on Nov. 3   AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED potter, sculptor, performance artist, and social innovator, Theaster Gates has developed an ambitious archiving...
Latest News in Black Art: Luke Agada Joined Monique Meloche Gallery, New Atlanta Art Fair,  Black Studies x Art History & More

Latest News in Black Art: Luke Agada Joined Monique Meloche Gallery, New Atlanta Art Fair, Black Studies x Art History & More

  Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   ART FAIRS A new art fair is coming to Atlanta next year. The inaugural edition of the Atlanta Art Fair is Oct. 3-6, 2024, coinciding with Atlanta Art Week. Featuring leading local, regional, and national art...
On View: See Images From El Anatsui's Monumental Hyundai Commission 'Behind the Red Moon' at Tate Modern in London

On View: See Images From El Anatsui’s Monumental Hyundai Commission ‘Behind the Red Moon’ at Tate Modern in London

Installation view of Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon, Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London, UK. | Photo by Joe Humphrys, © Tate   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A NEW SITE-SPECIFIC COMMISSION by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui officially opened today at Tate Modern in London. “El Anatsui: Behind the Red...
Diana Ejaita's  Fashion Illustration 'Lines of Beauty' Draws From African and Western Art Traditions

Diana Ejaita’s Fashion Illustration ‘Lines of Beauty’ Draws From African and Western Art Traditions

A RECENT FASHION ILLUSTRATION by Diana Ejaita could easily serve as a graphic designed to promote the “Africa Fashion” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. The portrait was not commissioned by the museum, however, but rather a magazine. “Lines of Beauty” graced the cover of the Sept. 25 issue of The New Yorker. The special Fall...
Nasher Sculpture Center Announced Artist Otobong Nkanga is Next Recipient of $100,000 Nasher Prize

Nasher Sculpture Center Announced Artist Otobong Nkanga is Next Recipient of $100,000 Nasher Prize

Otobong Nkanga. | Photo by Wim van Dongen   EACH YEAR SINCE 2016, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, has presented an international award to a living artist whose practice “elevates the understanding of sculpture and its possibilities.” The recipient of the 2025 Nasher Prize is Otobong Nkanga. The Nigerian Belgian artist is the...
MacArthur Foundation Announced 2023 Fellows, Including Artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Carolyn Lazard

MacArthur Foundation Announced 2023 Fellows, Including Artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Carolyn Lazard

THREE VISUAL ARTISTS, all women of color, are among the 2023 MacArthur Foundation fellows. Interdisciplinary artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons brought a mix of heritages and cultures when she emigrated to the United States three decades ago. “I was born in Cuba, but I also feel that I belong to many other places,” said Campos-Pons. In...
Akinsanya Kambon's Striking Sculptures Reflect Harsh Histories and Brutal Truths: 'If We Don't Talk About it, We'll Never Heal'

Akinsanya Kambon’s Striking Sculptures Reflect Harsh Histories and Brutal Truths: ‘If We Don’t Talk About it, We’ll Never Heal’

Made in L.A. 2923 artist Akinsanya Kambon on how his life experiences have motivated his practice. | Video by Hammer Museum   Akinsanya Kambon is among the artists participating in the Hammer Museum biennial, Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living   THE SINGULAR PRACTICE of Akinsanya Kambon documents suppressed histories and reflects the beauty...
Washington National Cathedral Dedicated New Stained-Glass Windows by Kerry James Marshall That Speak to a Just Society

Washington National Cathedral Dedicated New Stained-Glass Windows by Kerry James Marshall That Speak to a Just Society

“Now and Forever,” a new social justice-themed stained-glass window installation by Kerry James Marshall was unveiled at the Washington National Cathedral on Sept. 23. | Courtesy Washington National Cathedral   An original poem by Elizabeth Alexander will be enshrined in stone at the base of the stained-glass windows designed by Kerry James Marshall   NEW...
Artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley Received 2023 Heinz Awards, Recognition Includes $250,000 Prize

Artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley Received 2023 Heinz Awards, Recognition Includes $250,000 Prize

Roberto Lugo. | Photo by Joshua Franzos, Courtesy Heinz Foundation   THE HEINZ FAMILY FOUNDATION’S annual Heintz Awards celebrate outstanding contributions in the arts, as well as the economy and environment. This year, the five recipients include artists Roberto Lugo and Kevin Beasley. Heintz Award recipients receive a medal and an unrestricted $250,000 cash prize....
Lots to Watch: From Notable Collections, 'Club 55' by Ernie Barnes and Works by Artists Winfred Rembert, Betye Saar, and Melvin Edwards Up for Auction at Sotheby's

Lots to Watch: From Notable Collections, ‘Club 55’ by Ernie Barnes and Works by Artists Winfred Rembert, Betye Saar, and Melvin Edwards Up for Auction at Sotheby’s

  MUSIC AND THE WAY it makes people feel and move is a recurring theme in the work of Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) and is on full display in a painting he started in 1990 and completed in 1994. “Club 55” was commissioned by Motown Records to mark the 10-year anniversary of the death of Marvin...
A Feat of Engineering and Craftsmanship, Martin Puryear's First Brick Sculpture Was a Decade in the Making: 'It's Been an Adventure and a Challenge'

A Feat of Engineering and Craftsmanship, Martin Puryear’s First Brick Sculpture Was a Decade in the Making: ‘It’s Been an Adventure and a Challenge’

MARTIN PURYEAR, Installation view of “Lookout,” 2023. Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, N.Y. | © Martin Puryear, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery. Photo by Jeffrey Jenkins   A CURIOUS LOOKING, CURVED FORM sits on a high overlook in the North Woods of Storm King Art Center. A miracle of construction with no underlying framework, the brick...
Latest News in Black Art: Sanford Biggers, Willie Cole, Torkwase Dyson Elected to National Academy of Design, Curator Jade Powers Joins Birmingham Museum of Art, Aperture Magazine Puts Lens on Accra

Latest News in Black Art: Sanford Biggers, Willie Cole, Torkwase Dyson Elected to National Academy of Design, Curator Jade Powers Joins Birmingham Museum of Art, Aperture Magazine Puts Lens on Accra

  Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   From left, Willie Cole. | Photo by Zak Pontz, Courtesy of the artist; Torkwase Dyson. | Photo by Suzie Howell, Courtesy PACE Gallery; and Sanford Biggers. | Photo by Gioncarlo Valentine, Courtesy of the artist  ...
Lots to Watch: Works by 20th Century Pioneers Ed Clark, Norman Lewis, Peter Bradley, and Romare Bearden Featured in 'New Now' Auction at Phillips

Lots to Watch: Works by 20th Century Pioneers Ed Clark, Norman Lewis, Peter Bradley, and Romare Bearden Featured in ‘New Now’ Auction at Phillips

Lot 23: ED CLARK, “Gray Force,” 1972 (acrylic on canvas, 83 x 111 inches / 210.8 x 281.9 cm). | Estimate $400,000-$600,000. SOLD for $380,001 fees included. No. 2 lot sale   AT PHILLIPS NEW YORK, the forthcoming New Now auction features dozens of works by new and rising talents, many of them African contemporary...