Welcome to Culture Type®

An essential resource focused on visual art from a Black perspective, Culture Type explores the intersection of art, history, and culture

Alma Thomas Way: Washington D.C., Street Where Famous African American Artist Lived is Now Named in Her Honor

Alma Thomas Way: Washington D.C., Street Where Famous African American Artist Lived is Now Named in Her Honor

Charles Thomas Lewis, grand nephew of Alma Thomas, with Susan Talley, who established the Friends of Alma Thomas group more than a decade ago. They are holding the commemorative street sign DC Councilmember Christina Henderson presented to Lewis. “I think this is a wonderful recognition for her,” he said. “I...
Recently Published
At Smithsonian, Carl Van Vechten's Photographs Document Familiar Faces, Key Figures From Harlem's Heydays

At Smithsonian, Carl Van Vechten’s Photographs Document Familiar Faces, Key Figures From Harlem’s Heydays

Artist Jacob Lawrence, photo by CARL VAN VECHTEN   SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING PORTRAITS of Harlem’s 20th century figures were captured by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964). A writer and photographer, Van Vechten socialized with the greats of African American arts and letters, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. A white patron of the...
Culture Talk: Curator Lauren Haynes on Bringing the Colorful, Abstract Paintings of Alma Thomas to Harlem's Studio Museum

Culture Talk: Curator Lauren Haynes on Bringing the Colorful, Abstract Paintings of Alma Thomas to Harlem’s Studio Museum

ALMA THOMAS, “Snoopy Sees Earth Wrapped in Sunset,” 1970 (acrylic on canvas). | Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist; Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem   AT A TIME WHEN MOST ARTISTS are in the sunset of their careers, Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was on the rise. Recognized for her expressive abstract paintings, her exuberant use...
In First Date Movie 'Southside With You,' Paintings by Ernie Barnes Fuel Connection Between Barack and Michelle Obama

In First Date Movie ‘Southside With You,’ Paintings by Ernie Barnes Fuel Connection Between Barack and Michelle Obama

  A VISIT TO A MUSEUM, helped Barack Obama win Michelle Robinson’s heart. “Southside With You,” a new film about the first couple’s first date, includes a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. There they view an exhibition that features paintings by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009), representational works reflecting the African American experience with lithe...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art - Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter

Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter

RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that black women artists gathered in New York in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Also motivated by the movement, a group of black creative directors launched an initiative...
Frieze at 25: British Magazine Marks Milestone Anniversary with Chris Ofili Cover, Review of Significant Artworks Since 1991

Frieze at 25: British Magazine Marks Milestone Anniversary with Chris Ofili Cover, Review of Significant Artworks Since 1991

  TO MARK ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY, the September issue of Frieze magazine features three different covers and a review of the 25 most significant works of art produced over the past quarter century—one for each year since 1991. Chris Ofili was commissioned to create one of the covers for the special issue and was the...
Artist Kara Walker Made Shadow Puppets for Santigold's New Music Video

Artist Kara Walker Made Shadow Puppets for Santigold’s New Music Video

Kara Walker’s puppets for the “Banshee” video include a likeness of Santigold.   THE NEW VIDEO for “Banshee,” a track on Santigold’s recent album 99¢, starts off like many others. It’s a street scene filmed in black-and-white, a visual narrative meant to bring the song’s lyrics to life. Soon, however, it becomes clear that this...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art - Willie Cole's Work is Helping to School KU Students

Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Willie Cole’s Work is Helping to School KU Students

RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that timed entry tickets for the Sept. 24 grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., will be released starting this morning; an...
At LACMA, Artists Betye Saar and Alison Saar Discuss Intriguing Objects from the Museum's Collection

At LACMA, Artists Betye Saar and Alison Saar Discuss Intriguing Objects from the Museum’s Collection

Alison Saar on Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. | Video by LACMA   CONTAINED IN A DISPLAY BOX, the figure is at once elegant and rough hewn. “She’s a strong, intense female figure …She’s got her one hand up doing this kind of shimmy thing. She is just out there and strutting her stuff,” says artist Alison...
Foodways: Artists and Museums are Embracing the Cultural, Creative and Convivial Aspects of the Culinary Experience

Foodways: Artists and Museums are Embracing the Cultural, Creative and Convivial Aspects of the Culinary Experience

Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture   AFRICAN AMERICANS have a storied history with food. Published last September, “The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks” seeks to tamp down “the demeaning stereotype of an illiterate ‘Aunt Jemima’ who cooked mostly by natural instinct” by emphasizing the contributions women...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art - Plans for a Memorial to Lynching Victims

Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Plans for a Memorial to Lynching Victims

RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include plans for a memorial to lynching victims in Montgomery, Ala.; expansion of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater’s New York headquarters; and news that an outdoor installation of whimsically painted abandoned homes in...
Studio Museum Curator Lauren Haynes is Joining Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas

Studio Museum Curator Lauren Haynes is Joining Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas

Curator Lauren Haynes. | Photo by King Texas, Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art   AFTER A DECADE at the Studio Museum in Harlem, associate curator Lauren Haynes, is pursuing a new opportunity, joining the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as curator of contemporary art. Located in Bentonville, Ark., Crystal Bridges was established...
Olympic Spirit: Over the Years, Important African American Artists Have Paid Tribute to the Games and Champion Athletes

Olympic Spirit: Over the Years, Important African American Artists Have Paid Tribute to the Games and Champion Athletes

MARTIN PURYEAR, “Untitled (Olympic Poster),” 1984.   AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETES have been competing in the Olympics for more than a century—earning gold medals, breaking records, and making political statements. Who can forget U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) bowing their heads and raising their fists at the 200 meter medal ceremony at...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art - Large Donations Continue at Smithsonian African American Museum

Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Large Donations Continue at Smithsonian African American Museum

  RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include the departure of the director of El Museo del Barrio; a network of public librarians and a collective black women artists rallying in support of Black Lives Matter; and announcements...
Black Men Keep Getting Killed by Police, Carrie Mae Weems Offers a Graceful Reflection

Black Men Keep Getting Killed by Police, Carrie Mae Weems Offers a Graceful Reflection

A behind-the-scenes look at “Grace Notes: Reflections for Now” by Carrie Mae Weems | Video by Art21   AMID THE TRAGEDY AND VIOLENCE of black lives snuffed out at a Charleston, S.C., church during Bible study and gunned down on the streets of countless cities across the United States at the hands of police, artist...
Elle Magazine: New Photo Project by LaToya Ruby Frazier Reminds Americans that Flint Lives Matter

Elle Magazine: New Photo Project by LaToya Ruby Frazier Reminds Americans that Flint Lives Matter

From left, Shea Cobb with her daughter Zion and mother, Ms. Renee, outside the Social Network banquet hall. | Photo courtesy Elle magazine | © LaToya Ruby Frazier, Photo courtesy Elle magazine   THE NEWS MEDIA HAS MOVED ON, but there is still a water crisis in Flint, Mich. In April 2014, the city switched...
Retrospective: A Review of the Latest News in Black Art - New Appointment for Curator Jamillah James

Retrospective: A Review of the Latest News in Black Art – New Appointment for Curator Jamillah James

RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include a couple of major appointments: curator Jamillah James is joining the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and poet Kevin Young is taking the helm of the Schomburg Center for Research...
Hammer Museum Launches Digital Archive with 'Now Dig This!' Exhibition About Black Artists in Los Angeles

Hammer Museum Launches Digital Archive with ‘Now Dig This!’ Exhibition About Black Artists in Los Angeles

  THE HAMMER MUSEUM has breathed new life into one of its most dynamic and historically significant exhibitions. “Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980” explored a robust period in the city’s history when a pioneering group of African American artists established an influential creative community and produced important works commenting on the...
First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Kerry James Marshall Exhibition at MCA Chicago

First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Kerry James Marshall Exhibition at MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall gave First Lady Michelle Obama a tour of his exhibition. | Photo courtesy MCA Chicago   LAST FRIDAY, FIRST LADY Michelle Obama viewed “Mastry,” the Kerry James Marshall exhibition at MCA Chicago. Marshall’s powerful paintings chronicle the African American experience. The exhibition documents the artist’s practice over the past three decades and...
Retrospective: A  Review of the Latest News in Black Art - Black Art Incubator Encourages Innovative Creative Exchange

Retrospective: A Review of the Latest News in Black Art – Black Art Incubator Encourages Innovative Creative Exchange

RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. In the last half of July 2016, highlights include the launch of Black Art Incubator, a dynamic New York space for artistic, intellectual and social exchange founded by four young art world influencers; the announcement...
First Woman President?: A Portrait of American History by Simmie Knox

First Woman President?: A Portrait of American History by Simmie Knox

Embed from Getty Images   TWENTY YEARS AGO, Hillary Clinton authored “It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.” The 1996 book presented her vision for America’s children and the ways in which society can enable their success. In many ways, it was a blueprint for her life’s work up to that point,...