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“We’re trying to be emanations of the culture. To me, that’s the most radical formation, to be an emanation of the culture. – Arthur Jafa
When was the last time you had a conversation with G/D? As Told to G/D Thyself, a lush short film by a new cinematic vanguard, The Ummah Chroma—Bradford Young, Jenn Nkiru, Terence Nance, Mark Thomas, and Kamasi Washington—imagines encounters with G/D as nonlinear dreamscapes.
In one scene, children hang from the hips of an interstellar mothership. In another, an aged man prays, “Dear Lord, oh Lord, show them the way.” The viewer is asked to submit to a logic of symbols and the collapse of space and time. G/D is a cerebral and salient presence. G/D is an animated universe. G/D is a prodigy practicing the saxophone. G/D is a master teacher encouraging intonation. G/D is a hypnotic head nod in a school-room cypher. G/D is the vitriol of antagonized pitbulls and faceless men. In those moments we are asked to consider divinity through a Black aesthetic, and G/D as an amalgamation of various collective experiences.” CONTINUE READING
“Beauty goes beyond gender. S/he Handsome, a new collection of pastel and acrylic figurative portraits by S. Rasheem continues a series of womanist works that decolonize standards of beauty. Each portrait realizes black masculine-of-center women in affirming ways. The term “masculine of center” was originally coined by social activist and entrepreneur B. Cole to encapsulate the intersectional facets and broad spectrum of lesbian/queer/womyn whose gender identities are more closely aligned with masculinity.” CONTINUE READING
“American African American, the latest selling exhibition from Phillips New York auction house presents an extensive collection of over 60 postwar and contemporary works from well-known and emerging African American artists. Phillips Senior Advisor, Director Emeritus of the Brooklyn Museum, and curator Arnold Lehman believes now is the perfect time to bring more attention to African American artists. “There has been a great history of African American art, certainly starting post World War II” Lehman noted during a brief phone interview. “It’s great momentum in 2018, but it started 70 years ago in 1950, and it’s been working steadily towards this moment… We could have gone back even further.”
“Sistrunk-A-Fair, a new week-long festival in the Sistrunk community of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, endeavors to make local Black creative histories more visible. Sponsored in partnership with cultural initiatives Art n Soul, C.R.E.A.T.E., Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week (FTLADW) and The Art Fort Lauderdale Art Fair, Sistrunk-A-Fair will feature visual arts, performances, and historical archives about unsung visionaries from Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, Dania, Pearl City, and Hallandale. “We need something transformative, community-driven, and creative,” co-producer Emmanuel George shared. “This event feels special because it’s something that is more than just art, it’s to create a dialog through art.”
“Think about the main characters of films you recently viewed. How many of them were black women? How many had black female actresses as lead protagonists? How many were directed by black women? One or two may come to mind. Try to name 10. Are you having difficulty?
In response to the blatant inequity black women creatives face, filmmaker and writer Nia Hampton founded The Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival. The festival aims to promote dynamic cinematic efforts from Black female/femme identified filmmakers as well as “shake up the notoriously elitist culture of film festivals.”
“I found a need to have a ready tool to report unsafe building structures to the city. There was a lack of community developed solutions to remediate blight that wouldn’t result in significant displacement of communities. Community development in Baltimore and many other old industrial cities—Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis—results in total gentrification of neighborhoods, which is traumatic.
A lot has to do with communities having access to data about blight to create solutions that will be most impactful, sustainable, and least damaging to the people. It isn’t just that the buildings look bad; it makes you sick, exposes you to crime, raises rent. If you think of it as it just looks bad, you can’t think of the root cause of the issues. - Nneka N’Namdi
“t’s a way to allow the process to be shown just so it can have a dialogue with what it is to be human, continuing to be vulnerable, being okay with the process, and figuring out a way to allow the undertone to function. To pay homage from where you come from and how you’ve allowed those things to mold and shape you into the being that you are. It’s bigger than just showing it, there is a function, a reason for how it operates within each piece. It’s not necessary for every painting, but when it necessary I know when to incorporate it.” - Jerrell Gibbs
“Martin’s unorthodox approach to portraiture and distinctive aesthetic cleverly juxtapose myriad printmaking techniques with drawing, painting, sewing, and her own symbolic flourishes to create fantastical, spiritually intoned black figures. Martin uses grand embellishments, dense layering of geometric patterns from relief or callograph prints, decorative papers, and hand-stitching to realize intimate scenes of black women’s encounters with ethereal realms.
The worlds Martin illustrates are startlingly beautiful, meditative, and reveal the artist’s ever-expanding mastery of the mediums she engages. We recently talked to the artist about her latest work, spirituality, and the impact of the collection on the canon of portraiture.” CONTINUE READING
“A placard hangs in the foyer of the historic Arch Social Club that reads: “We are strong, moral men who believe in service to our community, preservation of our culture, friendship, and brotherly love.” Founded in 1905 by African-American professionals Raymond Coates, Samuel Barney, and Jeremiah S. Hill, the club is one of the oldest b men’s social clubs in the U.S., and one of the few remaining black-owned organizations to have operated while Pennsylvania Avenue was still nationally recognized as a hub for arts, culture, and entrepreneurship.
The club—which continues to serve as a cornerstone of culture, civics, and commerce for African-American communities in Baltimore City—recently won a $118,000 financial award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to restore parts of the building back to its original grandeur.” CONTINUE READING
A short experimental film celebrating and investigating the significance of Angela Y. Davis' scholarship and activism. Watch the Trailer
A powerful documentary covering the impact of the 2010 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti from the perspective of Haitians. Watch the full documentary.
"Operation Small Axe" is a timely raw and unflinching documentary that investigates the 2010 murder of unarmed Oakland resident Oscar Grant. Watch the Trailer.
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Abdu sits down with artist-archivist Angela N. Carroll navigating in the art world as a black body and making space for black art in museums.
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