Latest News in Black Art: Gordon Parks Foundation Names 2022 Fellows, Sable Elyse Smith Joins Regen Projects, Floyd Cooper Wins Coretta Scott King Book Award
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Gordon Parks Foundation 2022 Fellows: From left, Bisa Butler. | Photo by Gioncarlo Valentine; Andre D. Wagner. | Photo by Ike Edeani; and Nicole R. Fleetwood. | Courtesy Gordon Parks Foundation Awards & Honors...
Cleveland Museum of Art Promotes Key Jo Lee to Associate Curator: ‘It Has Been an Honor and Joy to Witness Key Jo’s Evolution as Museum Professional’
THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART (CMA) is elevating Key Jo Lee to associate curator of American art. The news was announced Jan. 18. Lee joined CMA in 2017 as assistant director of academic affairs. In 2021, she was appointed director of academic affairs and associate curator of special projects. Her latest promotion is effective July...
Latest News in Black Art: Georgia Museum Honoring Lou Stovall, Edmonia Lewis Gets Postage Stamp, Steve Locke Now Repped by Alexander Gray & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Lou Stovall in the printmaking studio he established adjacent to his Cleveland Park home (1974). | Courtesy Lou Stovall Workshop Awards & Honors Artist and master printer Lou Stovall is receiving the Larry D....
Meagan Burger Joins California’s Orange County Museum of Art as Director of Learning and Engagement
AS IT PREPARES TO WELCOME the public to a new building later this year, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) announced two new appointments today. Courtenay Finn is joining the Southern California museum as chief curator in March. She is currently chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. Meagan Burger is serving...
Henone K. Girma: Newark Museum of Art Names New Curator of Arts of Global Africa
THE NEWARK MUSEUM OF ART is starting off the new year by welcoming a new member to its curatorial team. Henone K. Girma has been named associate curator of the Arts of Global Africa. Girma joins the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey from The Africa Center in Harlem, where she served as programs...
On the Rise: 69 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on Notable New Appointments in 2021
FIVE YEARS AGO, Culture Type began reporting on new appointments of Black curators, primarily in museums. The first review in 2016 was prompted by findings from the Mellon Foundation (2015) that showed American museums employed very few Black people in positions that shape them in terms of their management and intellectual direction as institutions...
Archive of James Van Der Zee, ‘One of the Nation’s Most Important Picture Makers,’ Headed to Metropolitan Museum of Art in Partnership With Studio Museum in Harlem
WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, PARADES, CHRISTMAS SCENES, and all manner of portraits. The photographs of James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) have come to define 20th century Harlem. His powerful pictures capture the beauty and pride of Black life, documenting everyday moments and special celebrations. His subjects were cosmopolitan Black families, artists, and political leaders—Adam Clayton Powell...
Michael Ray Charles: 20 Years Ago His Potent Images Confronting Racial Stereotypes Were Highly Controversial, Today They Feel Ripe for the Times
TWENTY YEARS AGO, Michael Ray Charles was a rare quantity—a Black contemporary artist with mainstream recognition. His potent and thought-provoking work explored African American representation in popular culture, employed blackface and caricature to confront racial stereotypes, and presented complex images aimed directly at America’s shameful history of slavery, subjugation, racial violence, and white supremacy....
Crystal Williams Appointed President of Rhode Island School of Design: ‘She Has the Expertise and Qualities of Leadership Needed to Meet the Urgency of This Moment and Take RISD Into the Future’
Incoming RISD President Crystal Williams. | Photo by Jo Sittenfeld THE NEXT PRESIDENT of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is Crystal Williams. The school’s board of trustees announced the news this morning. A professor, poet, and diversity advocate, Williams brings more than two decades of higher education experience to RISD. She currently...
Latest News in Black Art: Eric Pryor Named President of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Jarrell Gibbs Painted Portrait of Late Congressman Elijah Cummings & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Dec. 8, 2021: At PAFA, incoming president Eric Pryor is flanked by paintings by John Neagle (“Pat Lyon at the Forge,” 1829) and Kehinde Wiley (Three Wise Men Greeting Entry into Lagos,” 2008). | Courtesy...
Greg Tate (1957-2021): Cultural Critic Who Made His Name Writing About Hip Hop, Was Equally Attuned to Visual Art
CULTURAL CRITIC AND MUSICIAN Greg Tate (1957-2021) died Dec. 7 in New York. He was 64. Widely renowned and beloved, Tate wrote with a singular style and insight about music, art, and culture at-large. In the 1970s, he worked at Just Above Midtown Gallery in New York, the storied gathering place and exhibition space...
Latest News in Black Art: Remembering Virgil Abloh and Robert Farris Thompson, Sanford Biggers Wins Heinz Award, New Representation for Umar Rashid, Eric N. Mack, and Derrick Woods-Morrow & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Aritist and Designer Virgil Abloh (1980-2021). | Photo by Katrina Wittkamp, Courtesy MCA Chicago Lives Virgil Abloh, the trailblazing designer and inveterate collaborator who made historic strides in the fashion world and provided opportunities...
Latest News in Black Art: Estate of Thornton Dial and Kevin Beasley Join New Galleries, Julie Mehretu and Kehinde Wiley Collaborate with American Express, Smithsonian Launches Searchable Museum & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture THORNTON DIAL, “History Refused to Die,” 2004 (okra stalks and roots, clothing, collages drawings, tin, wire, steel, Masonite, steel chain, enamel, and spray paint, 102 x 87 x 23 inches). | © Estate of Thornton...
Yale’s Beinecke Library Acquired 200+ Prints by Legendary Photographer Gordon Parks
AN IMPORTANT REPOSITORY of images, books, and materials documenting African American history and culture, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University announced the addition of more than 200 photographs by Gordon Parks to its collection. The prints were acquired directly from The Gordon Parks Foundation and include selections from 11 of...
Latest News in Black Art: Curator Essence Harden Joins CAAM, New Curatorial Hires at Brooklyn Museum, Arthur Jafa Guest Edited i-D Magazine, Michael C. Thorpe and Jammie Holmes Gain New Gallery Representation
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture From left, Curators Kimberli Gant and Stephanie Sparling Williams. | Courtesy Brooklyn Museum Appointments The Brooklyn Museum announced two new curatorial appointments. Stephanie Sparling Williams is joining the museum as the Andrew W. Mellon...
Jamillah James Appointed Senior Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: As a Student ‘Visiting the MCA Helped Me Realize the Possibilities of Curating and of Museums’
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO announced new leadership appointments to its curatorial team today. Jamillah James was named Manilow Senior Curator. MCA Chicago described her new role as leading the visual arts department and serving as a “driving force” in curatorial programming. She joins the museum from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los...
Latest News in Black Art: Torkwase Dyson and Dominic Chambers Joined New Galleries, Alma Thomas House for Sale in Washington, D.C. & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artist Torkwase Dyson in her New York studio. | Photo by Weston Wells Representation Torkwase Dyson joined Gray, the Chicago-based gallery. Dyson’s practice spans painting, drawing, installation, and sculpture. Her abstract works explore how...
Latest News in Black Art: Jesse R. Erickson Named Head of Printed Books & Bindings at Morgan Library & Museum, Anonymous Was a Woman Grants, Queer|Art Awards & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Appointments The Morgan Library & Museum in New York appointed Jesse R. Erickson to the position of Astor Curator and Department Head, Printed Books and Bindings. He officially starts in January. At the University of...
Legacy of Influential Artist Charles White Honored With New Scholarship at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles
A NEW CHARLES WHITE Art and Design Scholarship at the Otis Art College of Art and Design in Los Angeles provides students from underrepresented groups with full scholarships for four years. The scholarship honors the legacy and influence of Charles White, a master draftsman recognized for his powerful, realist images of Black people that...
Latest News in Black Art: Roxane Gay Named Board President at Performance Space, Alexis Assam Joins Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as Assistant Curator, Emma Amos Catalog Wins Gold Medal & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Author and Art Collector Roxane Gay is the new board president at Performance Space New York. | Photo by Reggie Cunningham Appointments BESTSELLING AUTHOR and art collector Roxane Gay is the new president of...
