Martin Luther King, Jr., looks out at crowd in Montgomery, Ala., 1965 | Courtesy Stephen Somerstein ART MUSEUMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES are celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., on Monday, Jan. 21, the official federal King Day holiday. This year’s commemoration of King’s birthday marks 90 years since he was born...
VICTORIA MIRO has announced its representation of Howardena Pindell. The UK-based gallery is working with the multidiscplinary artist in collaboration with Garth Greenan Gallery, her rep in New York. Pindell’s first exhibition with Victoria Miro is planned for June 2019 in London. Focusing primarily on abstraction and conceptualism, Pindell engages with personal, political and social...
In her home study, Shonda Rhimes talks about Hughie Lee-Smith’s 1988 painting “Counterpoise.” ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST publishes photos of spectacular, light-filled homes. The magazine’s latest feature focuses on the Los Angeles residence of Shonda Rhimes, an Italianate villa she recently renovated where paintings by Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999) hang in the study and living room. “His...
IN MANY WAYS, 2018 was a watershed year for black artists. Overdue recognition of art by African American artists and black artists from throughout the world, continued to grow among collectors, curators, critics, scholars, and gallery owners. There were many indicators of the ever-expanding institutional and market interest. European attention on African American artists rose....
The best illustrated black art books of 2018. | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine THE INCREASED INTEREST among some museums in mounting exhibitions featuring the work of African American artists has translated into a growing number of catalogs published to document them, which is wonderful. Many of those catalogs made Culture Type’s 2018 list...
Gordon Parks, Mrs. Ella Watson, Washington, D.C., July 1942 “DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, all Smithsonian museums are closed.” The message is featured in a banner across the top of all of the institution’s websites. A similar message is posted on the doors of the museums, which closed to the public on Tuesday. The...
A SELECT GROUP OF BLACK CURATORS is making significant contributions to the museum field—collaborating with artists, organizing important exhibitions, shaping collections and programming, and taking advantage of opportunities to lend their expertise beyond their institutions. Their representation is growing, slowly, but their presence and achievements remain rare. On the American museum front, among curators,...
Collector and Philanthropist Pamela J. Joyner THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST announced the addition of Pamela J. Joyner to its board of trustees in February 2017. The influential philanthropist and art collector accepted the opportunity for one reason. She was intrigued by the possibilities of an ambitious idea the Getty Research Institute (GRI) was...
Artist Betye Saar, 1970 THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST dedicated resources to “recover the historical record of art in Southern California” in 2002. Nearly a decade later, the endeavor led to Pacific Standard Time, a region-wide collaboration with more than 60 institutions that resulted in a sweeping series of exhibitions, programs and publications exploring...
Installation view (partial) of “Storm in a Time of Shelter” (2018) by Paul Rucker at ICA at VCU in Richmond, Va. (2018). | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine ENCOUNTERING 52 MANNEQUINS outfitted in Ku Klux Klan-style hoods and robes is unsettling, to say the least, even when the racist get-ups are made from brightly...
Artist Vanessa L. German THE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM of American Art announced the 2018 Don Tyson Prize has been awarded to visual and performance artist Vanessa L. German. The $200,000 biannual prize recognizes an individual artist or organization for exceptional achievement in American art. German was selected for “pushing boundaries and taking risks in...
Rendering for Destination Crenshaw The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The initial renderings have been released for Destination Crenshaw, a public art experience envisioned as a celebration of black Los Angeles. Perkins + Will is designing...
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA) and Whitney Museum of American Art are co-organizing the first-ever comprehensive retrospective of Julie Mehretu. The traveling mid-career survey will feature more than 60 works, about 30 large-scale paintings and 32 works on paper (drawings and prints) dating from 1996 to the present. The exhibition is...
Portraits of slave resistance leaders Zeferina and João de Deus Nascimento by Dalton Paula. ALEXANDER AND BONIN has added Brazilian artist Dalton Paula to its roster. Working across painting, photography, and installation, his practice explores the exigencies of the Black Atlantic and knowledge production throughout the African diaspora. His work is often realized in...
Installation view of “Betye Saar: Something Blue,” Roberts Projects, Los Angeles THE SMITHSONIAN’S ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART interviewed Robert Colescott about his life and work in 1999. Paul Karlstrom, who spent his entire three-decade career at the archives as West Coast regional director, conducted the oral history interview with the artist. Toward the end...
“My Body, Your Rules” (2018) by Deborah Roberts EVERY YEAR, 10 WOMEN ARTISTS receive Anonymous Was A Woman grants. The unrestricted awards of $25,000 go to women artists who are more than 40 years old. The 2018 recipients were just announced and Deborah Roberts, Heather Hart, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, and Michèle Stephenson, are among...
WAITING TO TAKE THE L TRAIN HOME to Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Michael Stewart was nabbed by a New York City transit officer, accused of scrawling graffiti on the wall of the First Avenue and 14th Street subway station in the East Village. The African American artist was arrested on Sept. 15, 1983, after 2 a.m....
Installations by Derrick Adams and Tavares Strachan, left background. MIAMI ART WEEK is well underway and there are an overwhelming number of opportunities to socialize and see, buy, and experience art beyond Art Basel Miami Beach. A plethora of activities focused on artists of African descent continue this weekend. Many galleries participating in satellite...
“In My Solitude” (2018) by Billie Zangewa at Blank Projects. ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH (ABMB) opens to the public today. The 17th edition of the art fair features more than 250 galleries from 35 countries in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. The enthusiasm surrounding ABMB has infused the entire city over the...
Artist Tavares Strachan’s work paying tribute to a pioneering African American astronaut was launched into into space on Dec. 3. (Liftoff begins at 19:40). The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS After a couple of delayed...
On View: ‘Danielle McKinney: Tell Me More’ at Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University is Painter’s First U.S. Solo Museum Exhibition
Sep 10, 2025
A Year of African American Art: New 2026 Wall Calendars Feature Works by Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, and Many Others
Sep 6, 2025
Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in August 2025
Sep 4, 2025
Amy Sherald Exhibition Lands at Baltimore Museum of Art After Artist Canceled Presentation at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Over Censorship Concerns
Sep 3, 2025
Washington, D.C., Museums are Showcasing African American Art, Exhibitions Focus on Photography and the Black Arts Movement, Vivian Browne, Adam Pendleton & More
Aug 31, 2025
