art, artist, painter, profile

The Inspiring Work of LA Artist Calvin Clausell Jr.

Growing up in Los Angeles, art has always been first for Calvin. From childhood he found himself sketching every chance he got. Loving the idea of bringing life to paper, he gravitated towards charcoal and graphite. Teaching himself shading techniques by observing human expression and emotion. He began oil painting after reading the book “The […]

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all, art, artist, profile

Black Like Me — Paintings by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe

Hailing from Ghana, Quaicoe’s lush and luminous oil paintings of black men and women, some strangers he encounters on the street or on social media, many others, friends and colleagues, stand as visual testaments to the resilience, power and strength inherent in African culture. His portraits reveal the complexities of human experience with both a […]

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all, art, artist, profile

Dave McClinton is a Visual Communicator

In the African American community, we are slowly rediscovering our history that has not been fully illustrated. It’s my job as a visual communicator to review historical information and inform the community by bringing these concepts to life and help visually define our identity. And to distribute these stories about the strengths and trials of the […]

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all, art, article, artist, illustration, profile

Tim Fielder is Visual Afrofuturism, Pulp Entertainment, and Action Films

Tim Fielder is an Illustrator, concept designer, cartoonist, and animator born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He has a lifelong love of Visual Afrofuturism, Pulp entertainment, and action films. He has worked over the years in the storyboarding, film visual development, gaming, comics, and animation industries for clients as varied as Marvel Comics, The Village […]

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all, art, artist, event, profile

Charles White: A Retrospective — Through June 9th @ Resnick Pavilion Los Angeles LACMA

The first major 21st-century museum retrospective on this famed mid-century artist, Charles White: A Retrospective traces White’s career and impact in the cities he called home: Chicago, his birthplace; New York, where he joined social causes and gained acclaim; and Los Angeles, where he developed his mature art and became a civil rights activist. The exhibition includes […]

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all, art, article, artist

Positivity and Art combined: The work of Chuck Styles

In a small suburb outside of West Philadelphia, a young artist at the age of 6 would find comfort in art while surviving the dynamics of a complex blended family, 5 compelling siblings, and eroding house conditions. Styles was no stranger to poverty and struggle growing up. His family although low on funds were full of […]

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all, art, book, event, photography

Featured Event: Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 SPECIAL EXHIBITION AT THE BROAD Los Angeles Mar 23, 2019 to Sep 1, 2019

Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists made over two decades, beginning in 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement. The exhibition examines the influences, from the civil rights and Black Power movements to Minimalism and developments in abstraction, […]

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all, art, article, artist, profile

Simone Leigh is Powerful Art Personified

Simone Leigh makes mixed media-sculptures and installations, as well as videos, through which she foregrounds the beauty and complexity of blackness. Claiming to “continue to revel” in her own identity as an African-American woman, she unflinchingly explores how black bodies have been discussed and displayed throughout history. Clay, in the form of terra cotta and […]

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all, animation, art, video, w.e.b. dubois

An animated excerpt of an article from W.E.B. Du Bois depicts the alienation experienced by African Americans

“Between me and the other world, there is ever an unasked question: How does it feel to be a problem?” That’s W.E.B. Du Bois, sociologist, historian, writer, and one of the co-founders of the NAACP, writing for The Atlantic in 1897. His article, “Strivings of the Negro People,”addresses the alienation experienced by emancipated slaves and […]

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all, art, artist, event, live performance, music, poetry, spoken word, theatre performance

Featured Event: Something to look forward to Saturday, February 24th, ​2018 8:00pm @ The Apollo Theater, NYC “SOUNDTRACK ’63”

A Live Musical Documentary with spirituals, protest songs, and current popular music performed by an 18-piece orchestra, created by Brooklyn’s Soul Science Lab. From the painful conditions that ignited the 1963 Civil Rights Movement to today’s Black Lives Matter Movement, and much triumphant progress in between, music has always strengthened outcries for justice. This concert […]

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all, poem, poetry, video

Featured Video: Nevah Black Down is about Love!

Nevah Black Down is about using your art, your gift, your words and your image to speak your truth! Creative Direction: Karen Gibson Roc Photography: Cisco ‘Street Lenz’ Collaboration: Plinth & Scratch Clothing (featured bandanna) Music: J Dilla ‘Life’ instrumental #NEVAHBLACKDOWN

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