Stephanie Sparling Williams Joined Mount Holyoke College Art Museum as Associate Curator
MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE Art Museum (MHCAM) has a new associate curator. Stephanie Sparling Williams joined the museum in South Hadley, Mass., in June. She previously served as assistant curator for the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. MHCAM Director Tricia Y. Paik said she was thrilled to welcome Sparling...
Latest News in African American Art: Asmaa Walton Named Bearden Fellow, Addressing Diversity Challenges, Solange Collaborating with Museums & More
Still from Solange’s film “When I Get Home.” | Courtesy the artist The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: Solange Screening Art Film at Museums in U.S. and Europe An international slate of museums and theaters is screening an extended director’s cut...
Former News Anchor Robyne Robinson Appointed Board Chair of Recently Reopened Minnesota Museum of American Art
THE MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART announced the appointment of Robyne Robinson as chair of its board of directors. A former news anchor, Robinson is the founder of Five x Five Public Art Consulting. The news was announced July 16 and she has assumed her new post. Known as The M, the St. Paul...
Renowned Washington Painter Sam Gilliam Has Joined Pace Gallery, For the First Time He is Represented in New York
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, Sam Gilliam has been increasingly recognized as one of the most innovative and groundbreaking painters to emerge in second half of the 20th century. His lyrical, color-soaked abstractions expand the definition of painting. Practicing for more than six decades, Gilliam has had relative success throughout his career, yet he...
Four Foundations Acquired Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 Million on Behalf of Getty Research Institute and Smithsonian’s African American Museum
THE HISTORIC ARCHIVE of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) was sold to a consortium of four foundations—the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for $30 million. The purchase was made through an auction process that commenced July 17 and concluded yesterday. The final sale is...
Kehinde Wiley’s Black Rock Senegal Residency Announced 16 Artists Selected for Inaugural Year
Black Rock Senegal. | Photo by Mamadou Gomis, © Kehinde Wiley BLACK ROCK SENEGAL announced the first group of artists selected for the residency program established by Kehinde Wiley. Located in Dakar, Black Rock is hosting an international slate of 16 artists working in a variety of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, and...
Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell Joined Board of Getty Trust in Los Angeles
THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST has a new board member. Mary Schmidt Campbell joined the board of trustees of the Los Angeles-based philanthropic institution. Campbell is the president of Spelman College in Atlanta and author of “An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden.” The Getty made the announcement July 10. The Trust...
Priceless History: Johnson Publishing Photography and Media Archive Up for Auction This Week
BEGINNING IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY, Johnson Publishing dominated the media landscape disseminating images of African Americans that defined black identity during an unprecedented period of progress and change. The photography published in Ebony and Jet magazines established a visual language and black aesthetic that came to represent the African American experience. It’s hard to...
Studio Museum in Harlem Names 2019-2020 Artists-in-Residence: E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed
“Lead Me Gently Home” (2019) by Naudline Pierre THE STUDIO MUSEUM in Harlem is welcoming three new artists in residence this fall. The program’s 2019-2020 participants are E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed. The museum announced the new group today. Thelma Golden, director and chief Curator of the Studio Museum, said she...
Philip Freelon, 66, Architect of Record for Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Has Died
Architect Philip Freelon (1953-2019) ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL African American architects of his generation, Philip Freelon (1953-2019) designed artful museums, cultural centers, and civic buildings across the nation. The architect-of-record for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Freelon died July 9 at his home in Durham, N.C. He...
Latest News in African American Art: Duro Olowu x Estée Lauder, Smithsonian Keeping Sackler Name, Maya Angelou Murals, Where Are the Critics of Color? & More
The following review presents a snapshot of the recent news in African American art and related black culture: Duro Olowu is Collaborating with Estée Lauder on a New Makeup Collection Known for his kaleidoscopic prints, British fashion designer Duro Olowu worked with Estée Lauder on a new makeup collection. “I love mixing unusual...
Museums Are Swapping Paintings by White Male Artists for Works by Black Artists, Filling Historic Gaps in Their Collections
FOR GENERATIONS, African American artists have not received anywhere near the institutional and market recognition experienced by their white peers. In terms of acquisitions, many museums are attempting long-delayed corrections. Few museums have consistently collected works by black artists, leaving historic gaps in their collections. To address these shortfalls and diversify their holdings, three...
Natasha L. Logan Appointed Deputy Director at Creative Time, the Public Arts Nonprofit in New York City
CREATIVE TIME, the public arts nonprofit that commissioned Kara Walker’s monumental sugar sphinx in Brooklyn and presented Nick Cave’s herd of dancing horses in Grand Central Station, named a new deputy director. Natasha L. Logan has been promoted to the role. She joined Creative Time in 2016, serving as project manager and director of programming,...
Latest News in African American Art: Curators Named for First-Ever Tennessee Triennial, Kehinde Wiley Sculpture in Times Square, Arthur Ashe Boulevard Dedicated in Richmond & More
The following review presents a snapshot of the recent news in African American art and related black culture: Lauren Haynes and Teka Selman Named Co-Curators for Inaugural Tennessee Triennial A new triennial launching in Tennessee in 2021 will be co-organized by Lauren Haynes, curator of contemporary art at the Crystal Bridges Museum of...
Veteran Museum Director Spencer Crew is Serving as Interim Head of Smithsonian African American Museum
THE SMITHSONIAN’S black history museum has been entrusted to Spencer R. Crew, a curator, scholar, and veteran museum director. In the wake of Lonnie Bunch’s appointment as secretary of the entire Smithsonian Institution, the founding director of the National Museum of African America History and Culture (NMAAHC) tapped Crew, 60, as his temporary replacement....
Los Angeles-based Textile Artist Diedrick Brackens is Now Represented by Jack Shainman Gallery
NEW GALLERY REPRESENTATION for up-and-coming artists often follows a succession of critical recognition—high-profile awards, acquisitions, and exhibitions. Diedrick Brackens has achieved all of that and then some over the past year. The Los Angeles-based textile artist was invited to participate in the Made in L.A. biennial at the Hammer Museum last summer, won the...
Culture Talk: Curator Julie Crooks on Art Gallery of Ontario’s Acquisition of 3,500 Historic Caribbean Photographs
A NEW ACQUISITION has enriched both the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the communities it serves. Presented with the opportunity to help the Toronto museum acquire more than 3,500 historic photographs, members of the local black and Caribbean communities stepped up, helping to raise $300,000. The largesse of 27 donors made possible the...
Courtney J. Martin Appointed Director of Yale Center for British Art, Yale Alum Called Opportunity ‘Too Good to Pass Up’
FOR THE FIRST TIME in 17 years, the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), will have a change in leadership. Courtney J. Martin, deputy director and chief curator of the Dia Art Foundation and Yale alum, has been named the next director of YCBA. Yale University President Peter Salovey announced the appointment in April...
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Adds Finance Figures Mellody Hobson and Robbie Robinson to Trustee Board
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA), which is developing a new $650 million building, announced three appointments to its board of trustees—Colleen Bell, Melody Hobson, and Robbie Robinson. Two of the new members, Hobson and Robinson, are formidable figures in Chicago’s finance and investment world. Bell, a media executive and former U.S....
Chakshu Patel Appointed to Top Fundraising Post at Studio Museum in Harlem
THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM named Chakshu Patel director of institutional advancement today. She is charged with developing a fundraising strategy to support the ambitious mission and vision of the museum, which recently celebrated 50 years by embarking on a new building project. Patel will begin her new position June 17. “I am excited to...
