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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

Awards & Honors
Claudette Johnson Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Pioneer in British Black Arts Movement is Known for Complex, Figurative Representations of Blackness

Claudette Johnson Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Pioneer in British Black Arts Movement is Known for Complex, Figurative Representations of Blackness

LONDON-BASED Claudette Johnson has been shortlisted for the 2024 Turner Prize. A pioneer in the British Black Arts Movement, Johnson creates commanding, large-scale figurative works that center Black men and women. Tate Britain announced the shortlist of four artists, including three women, this morning. The selected artists are Johnson, Pio Abad, Jasleen Kaur, and Delaine...
Mati Diop Won Top Prize at Berlin International Film Festival for Documentary About Return of Looted Art to Benin

Mati Diop Won Top Prize at Berlin International Film Festival for Documentary About Return of Looted Art to Benin

Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop won the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival top prize for the documentary “Dahomey,” which she wrote, directed, and co-produced. | Photo courtesy Berlin Film Festivals   Mati Diop is the first Black filmmaker to win the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival   IN 2021, FRANCE RETURNED 26 artworks...
Looking Ahead: Jennie C. Jones is Taking on Metropolitan Museum of Art's Rooftop Garden Commission in 2025

Looking Ahead: Jennie C. Jones is Taking on Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Rooftop Garden Commission in 2025

THE ROOF GARDEN of The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers majestic, panoramic views of the New York City skyline. Each year, the museum selects an artist to create a rooftop installation that highlights their practice, engages with The Met collection, and responds to the picturesque outdoor space. The project provides the encyclopedic museum with a...
2024 Tate Britain Commission Goes to Artist Alvaro Barrington: 'My Mind Has Been Spinning Since I First Got Invited to Do It'

2024 Tate Britain Commission Goes to Artist Alvaro Barrington: ‘My Mind Has Been Spinning Since I First Got Invited to Do It’

TATE BRITAIN selected Alvaro Barrington (b.1983) for the next Tate Britain Commission. The annual commission is a site-specific work presented in the grand neo-classical Duveen Galleries of the London museum. Exploring themes of “place and belonging,” Barrington’s installation opens May 26. “We are thrilled that Alvaro Barrington is taking on this year’s Tate Britain Commission....
2024 David C. Driskell Prize Goes to Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of Guggenheim Museum: 'I Am Equal Parts Elated and Humbled'

2024 David C. Driskell Prize Goes to Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of Guggenheim Museum: ‘I Am Equal Parts Elated and Humbled’

THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART announced Naomi Beckwith is the recipient of the 2024 David C. Driskell Prize. The $50,000 prize is awarded annually to an artist, curator, or scholar in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of African American art. Beckwith is the deputy director and Jennifer and David Stockman chief curator of...
Gordon Parks Foundation Announced Its 2024 Fellows: Larry W. Cook, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and D. Watkins

Gordon Parks Foundation Announced Its 2024 Fellows: Larry W. Cook, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and D. Watkins

Recipients of the 2024 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship in Art are Larry W. Cook and Tonika Lewis Johnson. | Images: From left, Courtesy of GPF and Photo by Ken Carl   THE GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION announced its 2024 Fellows. The recipients of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship in Art are conceptual artist and archivist Larry...
Akinsanya Kambon Receives $100,000 Mohn Award, Made in L.A. Biennial's Top Prize Honors Artistic Excellence

Akinsanya Kambon Receives $100,000 Mohn Award, Made in L.A. Biennial’s Top Prize Honors Artistic Excellence

AKINSANYA KAMBON, Installation view of Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Oct. 1-Dec.31, 2023. | Photo by Charles White   THE CERAMIC WORKS OF Akinsanya Kambon (b. 1946) have patinaed surfaces with a striking iridescent luster. Inspired by Black narratives and his pan-African beliefs, the figurative sculptures, vessels, and wall...
2024 Getty Prize Goes to Mark Bradford, $500,000 Grant Will Be Awarded to Nonprofit of Artist's Choice

2024 Getty Prize Goes to Mark Bradford, $500,000 Grant Will Be Awarded to Nonprofit of Artist’s Choice

THE GETTY FOUNDATION in Los Angeles announced Mark Bradford is the recipient of the 2024 Getty Prize. Bradford makes large-scale paintings composed with layers of paper. Both abstract and conceptual, the work explores social and political structures and the adverse ways they impact the lives of vulnerable populations. The Getty Prize gives Bradford the opportunity...
Painter Cy Gavin Wins Studio Museum in Harlem's Annual $50,000 Wein Artist Prize

Painter Cy Gavin Wins Studio Museum in Harlem’s Annual $50,000 Wein Artist Prize

Thelma Golden presents artist Cy Gavin with the 2023 Wein Prize at the Studio Museum in Harlem’s annual gala. | Photo by Bre Johnson, BFA   The museum’s Oct. 30 gala honored Cy Gavin and Elizabeth Alexander   THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM has been recognizing the potential of individual artists since 2006 with the...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Art & Diplomacy: U.S. Dept. of State Medal of Arts Bestowed on Robert Pruitt and Hank Willis Thomas at White House Ceremony

Art & Diplomacy: U.S. Dept. of State Medal of Arts Bestowed on Robert Pruitt and Hank Willis Thomas at White House Ceremony

Sept. 13: Arts in Embassies 2023 Medal of the Arts recipients. From left, Suling Wang, Hank Willis Thomas, Robert Pruitt, and Tony Abeyta, in the East Room of the White House. | Official White House Photo by Erin Scott   First Lady Jill Biden hosted the 2023 Medal of Arts event honoring five artists at...
Studio Museum in Harlem Announces 2023-24 Artists-in-Residence: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley

Studio Museum in Harlem Announces 2023-24 Artists-in-Residence: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley

  THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM’S highly regarded artist-in-residence program is welcoming a new cohort: sonia louise davis, Malcolm Peacock, and Zoë Pulley. Working across a range of mediums from textiles and performance to graphic design and audio, the artists hail most recently from New York, New Orleans, and Providence, R.I. The news was announced...
Design Industry Celebrates Best in Books, Recognizing Volumes on Artists Wangechi Mutu, Shikeith, and Just Above Midtown

Design Industry Celebrates Best in Books, Recognizing Volumes on Artists Wangechi Mutu, Shikeith, and Just Above Midtown

Winning selections included books dedicated to a variety of visual artists.   ONE Of THE MOST ANTICIPATED museum exhibitions of 2022 paid tribute to Just Above Midtown, the storied New York gallery space Linda Goode Bryant launched nearly half a century ago, providing a platform for Black artists when they were largely shut out of...
In Recognition: Ebony G. Patterson's Multifaceted Practice Taps Beauty of Botanical World to Start Conversations About Visibility, Violence, and Survival

In Recognition: Ebony G. Patterson’s Multifaceted Practice Taps Beauty of Botanical World to Start Conversations About Visibility, Violence, and Survival

Artist Ebony G. Patterson. | Photo by Frank Ishaman   ATTENDING ART SCHOOL in Jamaica, Ebony G. Patterson made a “classically inclined” painting that she didn’t love. Her undergraduate professor recognized that she was struggling and asked her why she was pursuing the medium in that style. “Ebony, is this really what you want to...
Barbara Walker Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Recognized for Series of Portrait Drawings Dedicated to Windrush Scandal

Barbara Walker Makes Turner Prize Shortlist, Recognized for Series of Portrait Drawings Dedicated to Windrush Scandal

  FOUR ARTISTS SHORTLISTED for the Turner Prize 2023 were announced today by Tate Britain. Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker are under consideration for the UK’s top visual art prize. The winner will be named on Dec. 5. Each year, the Turner Prize recognizes British artists for exceptional exhibitions or presentations...
Among Titans and Icons, Artists El Anatsui and Simone Leigh Make Time100 List of World's Most Influential People

Among Titans and Icons, Artists El Anatsui and Simone Leigh Make Time100 List of World’s Most Influential People

Artist El Anatsui. | Courtesy the artist, October Gallery and Jack Shainman Gallery   THE NEW TIME100 LIST is out today and three visual artists are among the honorees: El Anatsui, Simone Leigh, and Wolfgang Tillmans. The annual list pays tribute to an international slate of newsmakers and groundbreakers who are among the most influential...