Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Nancy Lane at Studio Museum in Harlem 2015 gala. | Photo by Julie Skarratt, Courtesy The Studio Museum in Harlem Lives New York art collector and philanthropist Nancy Lee Lane (1933-2022) died March 28....
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A NEW LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION by Hew Locke, “The Procession” features nearly 150 life-sized figures outfitted in hand-made garments and masks. The latest Tate Britain Commission is a sculptural gumbo evoking celebration, sorrow, and world events across time—from slavery to climate change, the Black Lives Matter Movement,...
THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM recently welcomed Ernestine White-Mifetu as Sills Foundation Curator of African Art. White-Mifetu was working as an independent artist and curator when she joined the Brooklyn Museum. She brings two decades of experience to the role. Previously, she served as director and chief curator of the William Humphreys Art Gallery in Northern Cape,...
Christie’s Hong Kong, Dec. 1, 2021 A STRIKING PORTRAIT by Amoako Boafo, “Hands Up” (2018) features a stylish young woman wearing yellow sunglasses against a yellow background. The painting sold for more than $3 million, nearly 10 times the estimate and an astounding new record at auction for the fast-rising artist. The record-setting result...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A RENOWNED SCHOLAR of African American art, David Driskell (1931-2020) had a deep interest in African Art, which he was introduced to when he was a student at Howard University. More than a dozen years later, in 1969-70 and 1972, when he was a professor of...
Installation view of “Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities” at Harvard Art Museums On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THROUGH COLLABORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION, master printers and a diverse slate of artists have been producing new works at Brandywine Workshop and Archives for half a century. The Philadelphia organization was...
CELEBRATIONS OF ONE OF AMERICA’s most insightful artists are finally arriving at a pace that measures up to the significance and longevity of her practice. Harlem-born Faith Ringgold, 91, is being recognized all over her hometown. Currently on view at the New Museum, “Faith Ringgold: American People” is her first full-scale retrospective in New...
SINCE THE LATE 1970S, New York photographer Jamel Shabazz has been cataloging his iconic street portraits in thematic albums. Housing small prints, numerous albums form a visual archive across nearly half a century documenting the city’s cultural shifts, sociopolitical landscape, and evolving style. The treasure trove will soon be published in book form. Shabazz is...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artist Lauren Halsey. | Photo by Russell Hamilton, Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery Commissions Lauren Halsey is the latest artist commissioned to create a site-specific installation for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s rooftop garden. Titled...
THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION in Washington, D.C., named a new chief diversity officer. Yuma Tomes, a psychologist whose experience includes teaching, research, and academic administration, was appointed Horning Chair for Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion. Tomes joined The Phillips Collection in February from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where he had been serving as...
“Octoroon (Constance)” (2021) by Ann Johnson On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A SPECTRUM OF METHODS, techniques, and narratives employed and explored by Black women printmakers is on view at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York. “A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking” showcases 21 works by nine contemporary printmakers: Tanekeya Word,...
THE UNDERGROUND MUSEUM (UM) in Los Angeles announced “with deep sadness” that it is closing “until further notice” and the tenure of co-directors Meg Onli and Cristina Pacheco has ended. The action also cuts short a long-awaited exhibition of paintings by the museum’s visionary co-founder Noah Davis (1983-2015). The survey opened six weeks ago...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture President Barack Obama and Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt discuss the artist’s practice and “Book Bird,” the commissioned work by Hunt that will be on view in the Library Reading Garden outside the new Chicago Public...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions AFTER HER BRAVE AND HARROWING ESCAPE from enslavement, Harriet Jacobs was employed in New York by Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867), a white, well-paid writer and magazine editor who worked with Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Jacobs, who titled her 1861 autobiography “Incidents in the...
A PROLIFIC AND BELOVED BOSTON ARTIST, Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007) was a life-long Episcopalian who described himself as a storyteller. He made paintings about African American life in Roxbury and Boston’s South End before dedicating himself primarily to works with religious themes. Crite illustrated hymns, Bible stories, and liturgical scenes, populating his narratives with...
“I’ll Be Watching You No. 1” (1987) by Shirley Woodson THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA) is showcasing large, vibrant paintings by Shirley Woodson featuring Black figures immersed in the Nile River. The images reference the mythical qualities of the storied African river and notions that its water provides bathers with nurturing and restorative...
FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, the David C. Driskell Prize has recognized acclaimed artists and scholars for their contributions to the field of African American art. Recipients have included Kellie Jones, Franklin Sirmans, Valerie Cassel Oliver, Rashid Johnson, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Lyle Ashton Harris, Mark Bradford, Naima J. Keith, Amy Sherald, and Huey Copeland. Now...
THE LATEST ISSUE of Juxtapoz magazine features a painting by Derek Fordjour on the cover. His subject is a nattily dressed marionette. The figure and the surrounding scene call to mind an earlier era of performance spanning vaudeville, the circus, magic, and puppetry. The culture of performance and sport are central elements in Fordjour’s...
TWO PAINTINGS WITH HISTORIC EXHIBITION HISTORIES recently sold at Bonhams auction house. “White Boy” (1989)” and “Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hommage to Victor Hugo)” (1991) by Robert Colescott (1925-2009) are important works in artist’s oeuvre. In 1997, Colescott was the first Black artist to represent the United States in a single-artist exhibition at the...
‘TONI MORRISON’S BLACK BOOK,’ the latest exhibition curated by Hilton Als at David Zwirner Gallery in New York, is a love letter to the renowned author and editor. “I wanted to not only do this homage to her, but I wanted to talk about visual culture through the lens of “The Black Book” and...
Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in May 2025
Jun 8, 2025
Henry Taylor, Tyler Mitchell, and Amy Sherald Among Artists Who Walked Met Gala ‘Blue’ Carpet Based on Cy Gavin Painting
Jun 7, 2025
Barnes Foundation Appointed Judia S. Jackson Head of Human Resources and Culture at Philadelphia Museum
Jun 1, 2025
Malcolm X at 100: Transformational Leader and Outspoken Orator Inspired Artworks by Jack Whitten and Barbara Chase-Riboud
May 30, 2025
Alma Thomas Way: Washington D.C., Street Where Famous African American Artist Lived is Now Named in Her Honor
May 26, 2025
