Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in July 2025
Artist Raymond Saunders has died, Next Ford Foundation President announced, Prospect New Orleans paused, Amy Sherald canceled Smithsonian exhibition MAGAZINES | July/August: Works by self-taught Alabama artist Bill Traylor (circa 1853-1949) grace the latest cover of The Magazine Antiques. The image captures an installation of eight drawings by Traylor in the New York apartment...
Betye Saar, 99, Formed a Scholarly Committee of International Curators Charged with Advancing Her Artistic Legacy
Betye Saar with “Drifting Toward Twilight,” 2023. | Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles. Photo © David Butow WITH HER CENTENNIAL ON THE HORIZON, Betye Saar formed a scholarly committee charged with “preserving, interpreting, and advancing” her artistic legacy, stewarding her vast body of work, and supporting access to her extensive...
Amy Sherald Withdrew ‘American Sublime’ Exhibition From Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Citing ‘Culture of Censorship’
In the trailer introducing “Amy Sherald: American Sublime” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, exhibition curator Rujeko Hockley said, “Hopefully in walking through the exhibition and seeing the paintings… you might have that feeling of being kind of overwhelmed, positively, by the vastness, the breadth, the range of the American people.” | Video by...
Moving On Up: 24 Museum Curators and Art Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2025
CULTURE TYPE reports on new appointments of Black curators and arts leaders to gauge institutional representation, with an emphasis on art museums. Museum leaders, curators, and educators shape the management and intellectual direction of institutions, determine the art visitors see and the programming they experience and, by extension, whether audiences of color feel welcome and...
Culture Type | The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in June 2025
Lindsay Adams, Ranti Bam, and Salim Green joined new galleries; Studio Museum in Harlem opening updates; Shakeup at Afro Brazil Museum; new Art Basel Awards; Suzanne Jackson at SFMOMA, and more TIFF MASSEY, “Baby Bling,” 2023 (steel beads, woven rope, and brass). | Photo: Detroit Institute of Arts ACQUISITIONS | June 2: The...
Brittany Webb is Joining Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art: ‘There is A Lot That Attracted Me to the MFAH’
Brittany Webb. | Photo by Marco Hill, Courtesy MFAH THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON (MFAH) announced the appointment of Brittany Webb to the role of curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. Webb is joining MFAH from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia, where she is the...
Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in May 2025
International curator Koyo Kouoh died, longstanding Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden fired, artist and curator Evangeline J. Montgomery died, David C. Driskell Prize went to artist Alison Saar Artist and Curator Evangeline J. Montgomery (1930-2025). | Courtesy the artist, Photo by Erwin Thamm LIVES | May 1: Artist, curator, and arts administrator Evangeline...
Barnes Foundation Appointed Judia S. Jackson Head of Human Resources and Culture at Philadelphia Museum
Judia S. Jackson. | Courtesy Barnes Foundation IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., the Barnes Foundation named Judia S. Jackson to the role of deputy director for human resources and chief culture officer. Jackson recently served as chief people and culture officer at Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. The Barnes appointment was announced May 28. Jackson officially...
Alma Thomas Way: Washington D.C., Street Where Famous African American Artist Lived is Now Named in Her Honor
Charles Thomas Lewis, grand nephew of Alma Thomas, with Susan Talley, who established the Friends of Alma Thomas group more than a decade ago. They are holding the commemorative street sign DC Councilmember Christina Henderson presented to Lewis. “I think this is a wonderful recognition for her,” he said. “I am truly thankful for this.”...
Los Angeles Artist Alison Saar is 2025 Recipient of David C. Driskell Prize, For 20 Years Award Has Recognized ‘Field-Defining’ Contributions to African American Art
Alison Saar at Arion Press, San Francisco, Calif., 2024. | Courtesy of L.A. Louver, Venice, Calif., Photograph by Nicholas Lea Bruno TWENTY YEARS AGO, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., established a groundbreaking prize named for David C. Driskell (1931-2020), a pivotal figure in American art and leading authority on African American...
Turner Prize 2025 Shortlist of Four British Artists Includes Nnena Kalu and Rene Matić
RENE MATIĆ, Installation view of “Untitled (No Place for Violence),” 2024, “AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH,” CCA Berlin (2024).| Photo: Diana Pfammatter/CCA Berlin A LARGE-SCALE FLAG by British artist Rene Matić (b. 1997) features the words “No Place” on one side and “For Violence” on the reverse. The flag and its seemingly simplified message...
Diallo Simon-Ponte is Joining Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, as Inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs
IN LOUISVILLE, KY, the Speed Art Museum is welcoming Diallo Simon-Ponte as the inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs. A writer and curator, Simon-Ponte will lead the Speed Museum’s new Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. Bringing artist engagement and exhibition management experience to the role, he officially starts in May. “I am honored...
Jack Shainman Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Faith Ringgold, ‘Artist Played Significant Role in Shaping Culture of American Art’
IN NEW YORK CITY, Jack Shainman Gallery announced its exclusive representation of the Estate of Faith Ringgold and the Anyone Can Fly Foundation. Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) was a profound and pivotal figure in the New York art world. Her art offered sharp commentary on America’s ills and her activism led to historic change and opportunities...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in April 2025
Director of Smithsonian’s African American Museum stepped down, antiquities dealer Leonardo Patterson died, Estate of Faith Ringgold and Brazilian artist Dalton Paula join new galleries **THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH** AWARDS & HONORS | April 2: Sheela Gowda received the 2025 Sam Gilliam Award. The Dia...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in March 2025
Elizabeth Giorgis, scholar of Ethiopian art history died. Artists Mônica Ventura and Precious Okoyomon joined new galleries. Republic of Togo will present its first pavilion at Venice Biennale of Architecture Fred Eversley (1941-2025), pictured in 2022. | Photo by Timothy Schenck, Courtesy Maria Larsson TALKS & LECTURES | March 4: In Washington, D.C.,...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in February 2025
Project aims to document legacy of Altadena in wake of LA wildfires, Lubaina Himid will represent UK at Venice Biennale, photography curator Oluremi C. Onabanjo won Vilcek Prize, Anne Collins Smith is chief curator at New Orleans Museum of Art, Sandra Jackson-Dumont stepping down at Lucas Museum, and more Rashid Johnson was honored at...
Lubaina Himid Will Represent UK at Venice Biennale in 2026, She Called the Commission a ‘Brilliant and Exciting Opportunity’
Lubaina Himid. | Photo © Adama Jalloh A key figure in the British Black Arts Movement, Lubaina Himid will be the third Black artist in a row to represent the UK at the Venice Biennale THE BRITISH COUNCIL announced Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid (b. 1954) will represent Great Britain at the 61st...
Anne Collins Smith Announced as New Chief Curator at New Orleans Museum of Art
Anne Collins Smith’s appointment is historic. She is the first Black person to head NOMA’s curatorial department THE NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART (NOMA) announced a new chief curator on Feb. 11. Anne Collins Smith has taken on the newly created role, leading the museum’s entire curatorial department. Smith is a local hire with...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in January 2025
In January, artist and gallery founder Alonzo Davis died, Made in L.A. artists and USA Fellows were announced, Christina Kimeze and Martha Jackson Jarvis joined new galleries, Africa Center welcomed a new leader, discovery of rare William H. Dorsey painting was reported, and more MARIO JOYCE, “Fragmented Memory,” 2024 (soil, vintage collage, oil paint,...
Alisa Chiles Appointed Decorative Arts Curator at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Bringing Particular Expertise in the Areas of Art Nouveau and Art Deco
Alisa Chiles is the new Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Decorative Arts, 1890 to the Present at the Virginia Museum of the Fine Arts. | Photo by Sandra Sellars, © 2024 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (VMFA) in Richmond, Va., has built a prized collection of...
